On Friday, I was really swamped at work. While I was waiting for people to call me back in between patients, I got a random text message from Keni, the husband of my very good friend from OT school. He and Dahlia were in town for the weekend and he was asking if I was free for lunch on Saturday. We didn’t have any plans so we agreed to meet for lunch to surprise Dahlia. At the end of the work day, I went downstairs to figure out my schedule for Monday. Our front office assistant came by and told me that I had a package that was dropped off by someone special. When I saw the bag it was labeled “TOTORO”. What?! I recognized that writing right away and was shocked that Dahlia had actually stopped by to surprise me but I wasn’t around to see her. It was a bag filled with Totoro stuff that she had found in Chinatown the day before. That was so sweet of her. Her note said that they were in the area and wanted to surprise me but someone told her that I wasn’t at work that day. She sounded so disappointed in the note. Hm, maybe I didn’t actually need to go to work after all!!
Anyway, on Saturday, we met up at M.Y. China at the mall. We arrived first and got seated. Keni and Dahlia arrived shortly afterward and the host who was walking them to our table was blocking Dahlia’s view all the way to the table. 
So, when he moved away and she saw me, she was in so much shock that she gasped and then started to cry in her usual Dahlia way. In fact, while this was all happening, Jes was in the restroom and could hear her from there. Haha…we sure know how to make a scene.
We had a big long hug and I was so happy to finally be reunited with my friend after not seeing her in over 8 years. Oh how I wished Heather (Oregon Totoro) was there to enjoy the moment with us.
Over lunch, we got caught up, reminisced, and had a lot of laughs like old times. Unfortunately, Kumquat was so overwhelmed by the crying and hoopla that she was afraid of Dahlia from the start.
As soon as she went over to say hello to Kumquat, I got a big boo-sad face and then she started to cry with her arms stretched out toward me. Oh shucks. Maybe next time.
The funny thing was that she liked Keni and flirted with him throughout lunch and even let him hold her. Look at how she wouldn’t take eyes off of “Crazy Auntie” as they were posing for this photo. Funny girl.
Anyway, it was a wonderful reunion and I’m so glad that we were able to pull this off on such short notice. I’ve missed her so much and glad that see that she’s doing well down in San Diego. Can’t wait for the day when all three of us can be in one place at the same time.
Here’s a photo of us 8 years ago.
For those of you who don’t know what Totoro is, here’s a link to give you a better idea. The reason why we call each other Totoro is because we used to watch the movie in grad school and thought they were so cute and funny. Heather also started knocking on my door and calling out “Totoro!” every morning before class. After a while it stuck and it was our little inside joke and nickname for each other. Sounds really silly when I have to write it all out but I guess you just had to be there. 🙂
We reserved the Clubroom and we had a decent showing of 17 adults and 9 kids! My oh my! I remember back when our parties consisted of at least 25 adults and maybe 4 dogs.
Anyway, the day started with a little drama. Jes started the prime rib at 11:30 thinking it would take 7 hours to finish. There was smoke all up in the house because it was turned up to 500 degrees (nothing bad happened) and the roast finished by 2:30!
So, in a panic, we went to Plan B and decided to make prime rib sandwiches with horseradish aioli, onion relish, and arugula instead of serving slices with sides. It turned out just fine and the meat was perfectly medium rare. Yum.
The adults also had a little game to play – we set up a blind wine tasting of cheap and more expensive red wines.
By the end, everyone was pretty rowdy. Check out the Reese and Jack Team vs. Uncle Jimmy. 
Keenan almost stole a kiss from Zoe until Uncle Victor spooked her.
I’m so glad the timing worked out for everyone. It’s rare that we all have a free Saturday to hang out all together nowadays. What a great way to kick off the Christmas season!!
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