There really is something to be said about driving to gorgeous San Clemente less than a mile from the ocean to hang out with one of my favorite coworkers and her eclectic family and friends for her youngest son’s post-wedding shindig. We had sheriffs there, courtroom clerks, adults in their 40s, alternative-party people in their early 20s (with whom I was mixing drinks and exchanging bawdy conversation), smokers, tokers, lesbians, conservatives, tattooed body parts, pierced body parts, mohawks, and tiny tots. Okay, I don’t know about the tokers, it just sounded good in there. I’ll just assume everyone at that party who had ever used any kind of recreation drug has now stopped. My point is, I had so much fun! And SO worth the drive, not just for the happy friendly people, but also for the fresh air and beautiful view! I had wondered before how it is my coworker is content to commute such a distance to work daily, but with her great hubbie at home and home by the beach, I understand completely now. Her family is so different from my own family, but I’d always felt so at home around her, her husband, and her kids (who are about my age anyway). There really is more than one way to live and be, and more than one way to be happy.