Once in a Lifetime ....

Rosie got the surprise of her life last night. Something Fred, my sister Mary and I have been cooking up for a couple weeks now.

Let me back up a step. Mary, as most of you know, is an actress. She is in an upcoming movie called Adventureland, in which one of her co-stars is Kristen Stewart (?sp) of Twilight fame. Well, Rosie is a huge fan of Twilight and has been bugging her Aunt Mary for an autographed picture of Kristen for some time now. Mary learned she will be attending the Hollywood premiere of the movie on Monday night (3/16). So she called me on the outside-remote-as-can-be chance that Rosie could go as her guest. Normally, this would not be possible, as I would not feel comfortable having Rosie fly unattended. Well, the gods must have aligned things in advance for us, b/c Mary just happened to be on the East coast the w/e before and was returning to LA early Sun morning. So there's Rosie's escort out to LA. As if that weren't enough, Fred is out in LA on business and is flying back to Philly on Tues night. There's her escort back.
So as crazy as this sounds, I said yes.


We decided to keep it a surprise not only for the chance this could fall through, but also just for the fun of it. We were in NJ anyway this w/e for a couple things, so my Mom was watching my kids while Mary and I went to our sister Veronica's bachelorette party Sat night. When we got back around 1am, the kids were sound asleep and cute as can be. I packed the last couple things of Rosie's in my car, grabbed an hour of sleep, then woke at 3am. I quickly got dressed and woke Rosie up, telling her to dress quietly and come into the kitchen. She had no clue what was going on, but did as I said and struggled sleepily into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She looked so confused when she walked into the kitchen where Grammy, Aunt Mary and I were all standing, grinning maniacally. She asked, "What's going on?" I said, "How would you like to go with Aunt Mary out to LA? What do you think about being her guest to her movie premiere?" Her face slowly began to change and her eyes turned from bleary to teary as the reality of what I was saying to her sunk in. She hugged me, then Aunt Mary in tight embraces as the emotions just washed over her.

But in a few minutes time we were in the car and driving the hour and a half to the Philly Airport in the middle of the night. After securing her boarding pass and walking with them as far as the security checkpoint, we said our tearful goodbyes. I watched as she and her Aunt Mary, almost equal in height and with matching brunette bobs, began the process of removing shoes and placing laptops, keys, and spare change in the scan-for-all-evil bins. Once they were through, we gave a final wave to each other and they were gone.

I've received word, through phone calls and a couple pictures by e-mail, that they arrived safe and sound. But I still can't believe my baby girl is across the country right now, enjoying the LA sunshine, exploring Mary's apt for the first time ever, and just in general being as full of herself as can be. Mani/pedis, the Hollywood sign, the whole works. Tomorrow, she will sit and soak it all in as she watches Mary in play rehearsals. Then she and her actress/Aunt will get dolled up and walk down the red carpet for a Hollywood premiere. She will gawk at faces as she engages in the always fun game of celebrity-stalking. With any luck, she will meet Kristen face-to-face and tell her what a fan she is, and get her autograph. Talk about once in a lifetime ....