My husband and I took a whirlwind journey this weekend to attend a family function and I have to say I wish I could have left my RP at home.

We live in Los Angeles and the event was in San Francisco, so we decided to drive.  It is about a six-hour drive and we like the time together in the car chatting and singing and laughing, but it also means a day spent basically outside and even with sunglasses my eyes protest having to be subjected to so much sun time.  When we have done this drive in the past, I usually get a few hours upon arrival to rest my eyes  in a darkened room, but this time we had to go directly to the event.  The venue was beautiful, with windows facing a lake and sun reflecting off the water through the windows. A totally beautiful nightmare for someone like me.  Sunlight reflecting off water through windows is akin to having lasers beamed directly into the center of my eyes; even with my oversized sunglasses, it hurts like hell.

So, there we were, sitting in the front row closest to the windows, my eyes already feeling sore from the 6 hours in the car, and I am feeling like a full-blown freak because I am the only person in the room who is wearing sunglasses.  Did I mention it was a religious service?  We were there to celebrate my niece’s Bat Mitzvah and between my tattoos and my big Jackie O sunglasses, I don’t think I made a very good impression on the Rabi.

The service itself was absolutely beautiful and I shed many proud Auntie tears, but it was also over two hours long and by the time it concluded, my tears were partly from pride and partly from pain.

If you have ever attended a bat mitzvah (this was my second and my husband’s first), you know that a huge party always follows the lengthy service and as family we were expected to stay.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the end and started planning the quickest possible exit.  My eyes hurt so much I could barely keep them open.  I decided that a quiet retreat would be the best way to leave, so Joe and I went off as if to take a walk and disappeared into the early evening.

I have to admit I was incredibly relieved to be out of there, away from the pressure of being the dumpy blind black sheep in a family of diamond studded song birds, and away from the assault of sunlight reflecting off water.