Serenity

As we approach the bitter end of the school year and the reality of two months at home with four kids looms large, I find myself visualizing calm, quiet places more and more often. We can all dream, can't we?

How Mama Got Her Groove Back

"Blue Funk" would probably best describe my mood the last few weeks. It most likely started with a comment Chloé made while flipping through some photos of me in my 20s: "Wow, Mom, I wish I'd known you when you were FUN!" Ouch. When did I stop being fun, I wondered. How did it happen? Top that off with an imminent birthday that plants me firmly on the downhill side of forty-something, and my mood turns epic blue.

"We're having none of that!" says my friend Deb, "Get a babysitter; we're celebrating!" Let me tell you, when that woman does something, she doesn't do it by halves: she carted me off to the Day Spa at Cavallo Point, where we started the day with a private yoga session in the historic Mission Chapel, followed by a massage and unlimited use of the spa's steam room, hot tub, and pool. We ate salad under the pepper tree and finished off with a cacao drink that practically made us swoon...

Floating on air, we decided to tour the rest of the establishment, including the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Marin, Murray Circle. Having covered the entire premises, we made to leave and were heading down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps, we looked at each other for a split second, then made a complete U-turn: it's so hard to end a perfect day. Cocktails on the patio seemed in order, and sealed the perfection of the moment.

I feel ten years younger. I could even make a stab at being fun. I think I'll paint my toenails red and dust off my dancing shoes, who knows? Deb does; she's got my number, and it's definitely not forty-something...