WEEKEND AT THE COTTAGE

Summer 2024 brought us wonder and amazement. Deb offered her cottage to hang out for a weekend get-away. Much to our amusement, the gang was hyped-up. July 14, a sunny Sunday afternoon, after the mass people were edgy to get out from the church to go to lunches, games, theaters to watch plays and other performances. The men were restless to go home to watch ballgames and other sports and other men's show just to name a few, cold beer on the table. The women on the other hand were eager to go to book club, dance and tea party. And me, so fervent to go to the cottage.

The cottage was not that far, the journey only took us 2 hours by car. Deb, Beshoy and me reached to the cottage 3 hours early before the rest of the gang got there. We just put our bags and left to go to the nearest supermarket to buy food for our sustenance and other supply for our 3-day stay. There were 8 of us altogether. The gang compose of Deb and Jacqy two great mothers, Beshoy, Evan and Oussama three un-attached gentlemen and Aezza, Hyewon and me all unwed strong women. Beshoy, Deb and me, came back to the cottage, three grocery bags full of assorted goods from the supermarket, put them away and we roam around and checked out the cottage. We got to choose our place to sleep, and space to put our bags and other stuff. Thank goodness we got there early than the rest of the gang. After 3 hours had passed the pack were complete, everyone were all accounted for. All were hungry by now. Everyone got busy, Deb, Jacqy and Aezza prepared supper. The rest of us hanged out at the backyard, each one had a glass of a home-made alcohol free fancy beverage and an extra cans of alcohol loaded beverage for the grab for those who want to get drunk.

Pasta salad, beef burger and hotdogs for supper, yummy food, what else can you ask for? After we ate, we walked to the beach just 2 blocks away to do exactly what we came for. We brought and took out our beach blankets and spread them on the sand and enjoyed a cat-nap. Others played volleyball. The rest of the gang went to the lake to paddle, wade and splash around to enjoy the fresh lake water. We were also very lucky that day to have watched the sunset and was amazed by the colorful sky. We stayed when the sky was completely dark. And the sun was replaced by the moon and stars to adorn and decorate above us. We were awed by such wonder and grandeur, what a spectacle! We savored the moment and headed out back to the cottage all wet. Towel wrapped around our shoulders to protect us from the cold. When we reached the cottage, everyone took turns to shower and get changed to sleepwear. Some grab snacks, others on headphones. When everyone had showered, pajamas on, we played card games. You can hear banter and laughter, everyone had crazy fun and pleased and contented. When all of us got sleepy, we all headed to our quarters and bade each other a restful and peaceful sleep and somebody put up the "NO SNORE PLEASE! LET ME SLEEP!" poster and everybody laughed. That ended our day one.

Day 2, the sun woke us up. You can hear the bathroom door constantly open. The scullery smelled bacon and scrambled eggs, elaborate fancy French toast casserole and coffee and all the aroma of good food. When the table was ready we had our grand breakfast. Everyone had a happy tummy! We cleared the table, washed our own plate, cup and cutlery, pat dry and put them back orderly to the cupboard and cleaned up. We rested for half an hour, then got ready to walk down to the beach, our second day. We played volleyball as usual, tag, and pass the ball. When everyone was exhausted, we looked for a table, sat down and played the famous scrabble. We played by team of two. And the teams were Jacqy and Beshoy, Deb and Oussama, Hyewon and Aezza, Evan and me. Every team was resolved to have great scores, what a heated battle among teams. We took out some snacks, shared jokes, fun facts, anecdotes, personal adventures and tales. We took lots of photos to remember and to mark such unforgettable get-together, to show and share to our housemates, partners and spouses when we get home. And are ready to plan for another weekend get-away. And lo and behold Evan offered the parentage cottage to explore for another weekend escapade. September, two months away from now, the agreed schedule. We need more days to allocate, we have to travel 4 hours on the road. The cottage located by the lake, huge and can accommodate 20 to 30 people. Everyone already eager to plan, apply and request for a leave from work when needed and necessary.

Our last day to stay has come, 3rd day. We packed our bags, swept, mopped, vacuumed and thoroughly cleaned the place as our way to show how thankful we are to the owners of the cottage. We left and headed back home full of joy, grateful hearts and happy faces. We reached home, only an hour to spare to rest and put our bags and other stuff from the weekend get-away and back to work. Welcome to the real world!

After a week, the gang meet to put our heads together, confabulate and explore ways and means how everyone can go and make the next weekend get-away more fun and enjoyable compared to the last one we had. September, not long now, 2 months away to be exact. We vowed to take advantage of the very short summer we can enjoy before the cold, damp and gloomy weather comes. Where we work and stay, we need to store lots of fun memory to help us endure, persevere and get through the challenges from work and from the cold weather. Weekend getaways are always welcome and are easy to plan and manage. We work our hardest, we deserve to have fun. So here's to more weekend getaways, more fun adventures and memorable get-together.