What I did this weekend

I will post more on this experience later when I have more free time. Yours truly is in a few shots, but only in parts.

“Dancing with the Marks” (and other entertainment for an 80th birthday celebration)

My grandmother turned 80 this past week, and the entire extended family came together to celebrate the occasion. The party has been in the works for months, and, since I have seven aunts and uncles from this side of the family not including spouses or my folks, there were a lot of party planners.

We had a traditional Chinese banquet at a local restaurant with over 80 people in attendance—ALL were related, either by blood or by marriage. This clan can reproduce! The food was good, the company was great, but the entertainment made the evening.

With eight kids and ten-times the number of relatives, you may have already guessed that the Mark family doesn’t do anything small. The evening’s festivities included a number of entertaining acts:

• A slideshow (80 years worth of pictures of my grandmother, including siblings, friends, marriage, kids, grandkids and other relations)
• A compilation of memories and experiences from the grandkids called, “Adventures in Food and Babysitting,” featuring yours truly, my husband and my 13 cousins
• A fun-filled, laughter-inducing introduction for my mom and her seven siblings set to “Dancing with the Stars,” aptly renamed “Dancing with the Marks”
• A Letterman-style “top eight reasons why we love mom,” including stories of matching outfits, unconditional support for a host of sporting activities, specialty meals, visits to the principal’s office, answered prayer and miracles—one reason from each of the eight kids
• Singing “Happy Birthday” twice because the candles weren’t lit the first time around
• A traditional Hawaiian hula set to Elvis’ “Blue Hawaii”
• Speeches, speeches and more speeches
• Cake
• An original song written by my über-talented uncle, a member of Society of Seven, based out of Las Vegas

My aunts and uncles know how to show their talents (or lack thereof) and get a laugh. I’ll remember this event for years and years to come, and I think all in attendance walked away a little stunned and completely entertained. Most importantly, I think my grandmother had one hell of a memorable birthday.

Another Ski Weekend Served with a Side of Societal Pressure

Nate and I are spending this weekend in Portland with his sister and brother-in-law. We’re headed to Mt. Hood for a couple days of skiing, mixing up the downhill with a day of cross-country. Typically with Nopo Girl and Barkernews (names reflect their blog ID’s), we’d wake up at 5:30 a.m. in order to book it up to the mountain and be ready before the lifts open.

Nopo Girl and Barkernews are patrollers on Mt. Hood, so they’re used to being first on the slopes. Even if they’re not on duty, they’re still trying to catch fresh tracks. But this year is different.

This year, Nopo Girl is pregnant. She’s nearly 10 weeks along and is taking every precaution, which means that she’s omitted downhill skiing from her list of activities. Since this pregnancy isn’t without risk, my über-active sister-in-law has scaled her life down to the degree that her heart rate doesn’t get above 140—doctor’s orders. No more ski patrol (she sits in the first-aid hut), no more downhill skiing, no more bike races, no more jogging… you get the point.

We learned of her happy circumstance on Christmas Eve at the dinner table. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, two other couples in our social circle shared news of their pregnancies. Shortly after Christmas, we learned that three other friends are pregnant. Two of my co-workers are new fathers.

The baby hose is out, and we’re being doused with it.

Oddly, none made me feel quite as anxious as Nopo Girl’s news. More than the joy felt for Nopo Girl and Barkernews, more than the excitement that I’ll be an aunt, more than the realization that the Kaiser-family dynamics will fundamentally change, I felt pressure. When Nate asked me to define this pressure and share with him where this pressure comes from, all I could answer was “society.”

Societal pressure to have a baby is now bearing down on me.

It’s totally a false perception on my part, and I know that, but here’s my rationale from hearing Nopo Girl’s news: Someone whom I feel very close to, someone whom I identify with, someone whom I felt is equally selfish about lifestyle and freedom is giving it all up to have a baby. I realize this perspective is short-sighted and probably immature, but it’s an honest portrayal of my reaction.

I love the lifestyle that Nate and I have developed. We ski, we travel, we keep crazy hours, we work hard and we play hard. We’re not dependent on any one or anything, and our lives are largely dictated by our own whims. This lifestyle is, in part, mimicked after Nopo Girl and Barkernew’s lifestyle. And now that’s going to change. My peers are now having kids.