Farewell Party

Last weekend, The Texan hosted a farewell party for HomoDommi, FemmeDommi and the children, although the move itself will not officially take place for another two weeks. Fifty of their nearest and dearest friends showed up to wish them the best (you build quite a few friendships after 21 years in a town, 35 years for HomoDommi, and whole lifetimes if you ask the children).

It was potluck, although we had covered the bases, providing grilled meat of many kinds (and veggie burgers, which we forgot about until the next day, but no vegetarians complained), condiments, two salads, two desserts, liquid refreshments, and a couple of appetizers. HomoDommi decorated the back yard splendidly and the weather cooperated by being cool and sunny.

The party went very well -- everybody stayed for as long as they could, departing on schedule according to the age of their children (those with no children stayed very late, which was good, too). There were guests from all aspects of the family's life in Oregon -- law school friends (since the 1980s), soccer friends (since perhaps earlier in the 1980s), graduate school friends (since the 1990s), and more recent friends with children corresponding in age with Boy- and Girl-child (since the 2000s).

The children as it happened were all boys (except for one baby girl). Ten boys, aged 7 - 13. Their entertainment was a protracted watergun fight, unintendedly mimicking the history of war by evolving from face-to-face duels, to semi-organized sides (with snipers), to guerilla ambushes involving buckets of water rather than squirt guns. Girl-Child (whose best friend couldn't make it) bonded with a long-lost boy-friend from babyhood, and then happily played with the rest, dainty enough to avoid even getting damp. When night fell, all of the children were cocooned in blankets and pillows spread across the floor of the studio, and watched a movie (The Triplets of Belleville).

We entirely forgot to take photos. We left up all the decorations, and the photo is from Sunday morning. The paper lanterns gave off a marvelous festive light after dark.