Girls Gone Wild: Malibu Bluff ParkYesterday, I got together with Lori at one of our favorite spots, Malibu Bluff Park. It sits at the end of Malibu Canyon Road overlooking the ocean. Quite, peaceful, beautiful. We sat on one of the picnic benches, shot the shit for a while, ate, and worked on Dually Noted stuff. I haven’t laughed that hard with her in a long time. It felt good. It felt like I had my ol’ friend back and you want to know why: Matteo wasn’t there. This is only the second time in the 18 months of Matteo’s life that Lori and I have gotten together without him. I repeat: only the second time! In 18 months. That’s a year and a half! The first time we were together without Matteo was over a year ago, on her birthday, when I told her she HAD to leave him behind because I had a birthday surprise for her that Matteo couldn’t participate in (whale watching on a sailboat followed by dinner at a very non-kid friendly restaurant). This time, Lori called me and said we could get together in the morning or the afternoon, but she would prefer the afternoon because then she could leave Matteo with Sal and we would be sans baby. SHE requested that we get together without Matteo. This is the first time that has happened too. And you want to know something else…it was the first time I could feel her relaxed with the idea that someone else was taking care of Matteo, which means she was totally present when we were together. She could focus on herself, on what we were doing, and was able to relax and sink into the moment like an old, comfy chair. It was like she was a CFF again! And even though I know that Matteo is always on her mind, it’s nice to know that she’s found a way to balance that by creating space in her mind for herself too.

Of course old habits die hard…as she pulled out some pita bread from the basket of goodies she brought along with her, she proceeded to tear up the pita bread into little pieces.

“Dude, I’m not Matteo. You don’t need to break my food up for me,” I said to her. At which point we both burst into laughter. Of course, I then proceeded to choke on the pita bread a few minutes later, prompting her to warn me the next time I grabbed a piece, “Dude, that’s a big one. You want me to break that up for you, you frickin’ tool?!”

God, I love that girl’s sense of humor.

Despite all the crap that’s going on in her life right now, Lori seemed happier than I have seen her in the past year. Maybe it was because Matteo wasn’t there. Maybe it was just ME happier because Matteo wasn’t there. Maybe it’s because she’s at a point where she’s just surrendered to her circumstances and is ready to tackle them from a new place rather than trying to fight them off while retreating. Who knows. But I do know this: for the first time in months, maybe even a year, I can’t wait to get together with her again.