A Cut Above the Rest

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Today was New Year's Day and I refused to start 2010 with negativity. After such an emotional New Year's Eve, I was more than happy the next few days of our So Cal trip would be busy with family. First on the agenda- The Tournament of Roses Parade.

My brother and faux sis-in-law (aka FSIL) live blocks from the parade. Although all 10 of us had planned on getting up early on New Year's Day to get good seats, only myself, FSIL, G, and Bstarr (with some help) were up at 7am. We packed up the stroller and started walking... a LOT of walking. Apparently, everyone in Pasadena had waken up earlier than us. The streets were CROWDED. Who said attendance was down 30%??? We ended up walking about a mile before we found us a spot. Hungry, hot, and grouchy we waited for the parade.

After battling other spectators to keep our view clear (with the help of the Pasadena Police Dept.) the parade finally commenced. At that moment, the long morning instantly paid off.

What a view!

Sadly, as instantly as the parade started, it also stopped. A float breaks down about 9 floats into the parade. The entire parade comes to a halt right as the Chinese float was passing by. We sat there and patiently waited for the floats to begin moving again as we listened to the blasting piercing sounds of Chinese music... for 15 minutes. Eventually they killed the music. The parade waves stopped. The smiles broke. And the floats still hadn't moved. It was at this time we decided that our Tournament of Roses Parade experience had come to an end. We packed up our stuff and started our mile walk back to the apartment.

Now, I know this sounds as if this experience was torturous, but it was actually quite the opposite. This morning I learned a lot about my FSIL. I have always thought of her as passive and quiet. But after walking for a mile on an empty stomach, at 7am, with 2 kids, and fighting spectators to stay clear of our kids' views- holy crap was I wrong! FSIL is a fire-cracker if you get her started. I was very proud.

As we arrived back at the apartment, the rest of the clan had been watching on TV. We all said our good mornings and got ready for a day at The Getty Museum. As I sat waiting for 9 people sharing 2 bathrooms, I thought to myself how wonderful it was to be here.

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