Ikea and Kerry

Yesterday I drove to VA (about 3 hours) for my friend Kerry's retirement party.  In order to avoid the horrible DC rush hour traffic I left early, which meant I had about 2 hours to kill, so I went to Ikea.

I've always liked Ikea since the Potomac Mills location opened in the mid-80s.  When Spouse & I lived in VA and had a beach home here, we bought dishes and placemats and kitchen utensils and lots of other stuff at Ikea.  We've also purchased 2 TV stands from the scratch & dent section there.

I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but since we've been talking about changing out the rugs and curtains in our TV room, I thought I'd check those out.  While I saw things I liked, none excited me enough to pull the trigger.  However, I did end up buying 2 decorative pillows for $3.99 each, a package of 4 pillar candles for $1.99, and a 'starter' tool kit (hammer, screw drivers, plyers, tape measure) for $7.99 which will make a nice little gift for a 1st time home buyer.  It was fun to browse through the store at my own pace.

Then I went to the retirement party at a community clubhouse.  It still pains me to think that my dear friend Kerry who is 9 months YOUNGER than me is retiring.  Only OLD people retire!!  But actually she had worked for the County school system (Head Start program) for 30 years, and retired yesterday at the age of 53. 

The party was organized by her sister Kelly and several of Kerry's friends from work who are also personal friends.  Several neighbors and friends like me were there, too.  I'd estimate about 100 people came to the party which was very enjoyable.  I took several photos but am just sharing 1 that kind of sums up the general mood/spirit:

Me, Alex, and Maura

It was a really nice tribute to Kerry who has touched the lives of so many consumers of the service she provided, but also influenced so many of her colleagues over the years.  The room was filled with love and gratitude.  We should all be so lucky!