Ladies' Night

Last night was ladies’ night. My mom is currently swinging single as my dad and brother travel like nomads through the western states before my brother’s upcoming ultra marathon in the Wasatch Mountains on September 8th. Karen and I decided to drive to Brookfield after work yesterday afternoon to join Jackie for a downtown concert and picnic. The plan was to pick up Chinese food from our lifelong favorite—Chinese Pagoda in Wauwatosa—and then head downtown to Pere Marquette Park (on Third and Kilbourn) to enjoy Wade Fernandez, a musician of contemporary American Indian music.

Unfortunately, the rain quickly put an end to our concert plans, but we certainly didn’t let that spoil our fun! We arrived in Brookfield around 6 p.m. and picked up Jackie, who appeared relaxed and carefree, now unrestrained by the continual stresses and demands that come from living with two grown boys. We hit up Balistreri’s, our favorite local pizza joint in Wauwatosa, which serves up the most amazingly thin crust pizza. Next, we headed to Kopp’s so that Karen could finally taste the finest custard in Milwaukee, which I so often rave about. The two flavors of the day were Pomegranate and Grasshopper Fudge. My mom and Karen chose Pomegranate, and I, of course, chose Grasshopper Fudge, which was sinfully delicious. After ice cream, we returned to my parent’s house and looked through several picture albums from my childhood. It was pretty entertaining stuff. Lots of family camping. Some rather scary hairstyles. And that little blonde who always marched to her own beat. It was a fun night. I wish ladies’ night with my mom came along more often.