And so it seems that we now come to the final day of this year-long project. I didn’t realize that this would end on Mexican Mother’s Day, but it is a fitting conclusion to this little project. As is the case every year, my mother gets celebrated for her motherhood on two separate days (except for those years in which both are on the same day).
I took my mom out for brunch to a favorite restaurant of ours in La Canñada-Flintridge, another one of those communities that are as far as urban development can go before the mountain shoots up in steep angles. Today, the marine layer was thick enough that it never really burned off, even at the foot of the mountains. I discovered this restaurant because they had our “awards ceremony” for the Bootcamp program I did way back at the end of 2011. We met for Bootcamp at 5:30 am and then had our little reception at 6:30 am. I later brought my mom, and we have been coming here ever since. However, we had not come since the pandemic began until we came with my dad a few weeks ago. I love that many of the staff are still there and that they were so happy to see my parents.
To get to the restaurant and return home, I took the scenic route that weaves through all of the hills that get increasingly taller as we near the mountain. These are beautiful roads because there are so many trees. As you drive past Pasadena and into La Cañada-Flintridge, you start to drive past beautiful mansions with impeccable gardens. This drive, too, we had not done in almost a year and a half.
It all felt like a victory lap. It was a celebration of so many things. Honestly, I couldn’t have planned for a better day to conclude this little project. Today, Los Angeles Opera announced that they would be holding their first live performance indoors next month. Tomorrow, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will announce the concert schedule for Hollywood Bowl.
Finally, one of my mom’s favorite things on this drive is the above statue of Christ facing the mountains with open arms. Today I am grateful to God.
And now to properly end this post and this project, let’s listen to the Immolation Scene from Wagner’s Götterdämmerun. Only the greatest ending to the greatest work or art ever–Der Ring Des Nibelungen
Emantable 