Yesterday we had our friends Laura and Mo over for Sunday afternoon badminton/bocce/BBQ. They brought their son Finn, who is 3 months older than Julian, and a good time was had by all.

At one point Laura and I were chopping veggies in the kitchen and the subject of Spain came up, so I was telling Laura about my year in Madrid and my gig dancing with a soccer ball on the Worst TV Show Ever ("Goles Son Amores", 1992). Laura was surprised and asked me what other stories I hadn't divulged yet!

Geez, lots. I used to be a very exciting, living-on-the-edge kinda person before I became a suburban mama. I got kicked out of boarding school, rode a motorcycle for 15 years, lived in various apartments around San Francisco, traveled a lot, posed tastefully nude for artist friends, was a go-go dancer, my fashion photographer boyfriend even tattooed my name and likeness on his arm, and then there was my string of crazy *French* boyfriends. That's not even the wild stuff. It's been an interesting life so far.

I was laughing with Laura that my latest "stories" involve oh, Julian pooping at the end of the driveway or something like that. No sex, drugs or rock-n-roll anymore.

That's OK by me, but it does make me a bit nostalgic. That life was so crazy, and I'm very happy to be where I'm at now. I wouldn't trade Dan or Julian for anything. But man...it was fun.

The four of us were were sitting at the patio table drinking Captain Morgan and OJ and swapping stories of our romantic world travels, in between wrangling our toddlers, of course. New Zealand, the Big Island, Spain, France, Australia, the Caribbean, sailing trips to the Bahamas...I think we all got a bit nostalgic talking about faraway places we've been, the freedom of getting up and just going wherever you feel like going that day. No napping schedules to tend to, no baby bedtimes to consider. Stay out all night dancing with strangers if you feel like it...what's the big deal?

Truth be told, that life was getting a bit boring though. There's no thrill when you can just do anything you want, anytime. Wild nights end, and hangovers aren't much fun. We were ready to do something different, take the next step, focus on something besides ourselves, see what having a family would be like. And in many ways, the adventures I had before becoming a mama were TAME in comparison. I have better relationships now. I'm more fulfilled creatively, wiser, more successful, more the person that I always wanted to be.

It's nice to think back, though. I've got a baaaaad travel jones, and the conversation yesterday didn't help at all. If Dan could take off with me, or if I knew someone who could handle traveling with a mom/toddler duo, I'd definitely be up for a trip somewhere, anywhere. Several times a day I get images popping into my head of sipping a noisette at a Paris cafe, or a sunset over the sagebrush in Utah, the Metro in Madrid, soaring on the front of our sailboat in the Gulf of Mexico while dolphins ride the bow waves.

What's silly about it is that home certainly doesn't suck. We do fun events every day. Summer is great. I'm having a blast, for the most part. I just have that little voice inside calling me to go, baby, go!

Ah well, Julian won't be little forever. I had better enjoy this time while it lasts, and we can whoop it up a bit again when he's older.