The Men in My Life

A Perfect Fathers Day for MOM!

A year ago, my son Colin Louro(center) moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream in movie production. Yep, he moved 3000 miles away from all of us. Am I sad, actually not! Just like when they all went off to college, I am excited for him and the future that is in store for him. And hey, after all, it is a nice place to visit! (Could be worse, he could have moved to Australia - too far to visit!) Although, when they went off to college, I always knew they would come back...the difference is that Colin will probably build his future in LA.

What I do get sad about is the disconnect that the 4 brothers could easily develop. Doug and Jon are in NYC, Nick is still in college in South Carolina and between work and school it is often hard to have them all together at the same time! In fact, it had already been 1 1/2 years since they had all been in the same room! Let me introduce them, in the photo from left to right - Jon, Nicky, Colin, Frank (Dad) and Doug. Such a handsome bunch! I am so proud of them all for each of their lives! But as brothers, I want them so much to KNOW each other. (By the way...ever seen such a group of cute guys! LOVE tHEM!)

So for Fathers Day, (which happened to be Colin's Bday this year) I secretly arranged with all the boys to fly to LA and surprise Colin! First of all, it was so much fun planning the secret trip. It was fun to coordinate the flights to arrive simultaneously and exciting to know that all my boys were up in the sky, on separate planes, crossing the country! When we all arrived, we headed directly to surprise Colin at his job at Trump Golf Course, Palos Verde.

OF course, his manager and staff were all "in on" the secret surprise (which made it even more fun!). And as he walked into the lounge and saw us all sitting at the bar, I could feel the love! I know that sounds corny, but I could. It was so fun to hear the bantering that only brothers can do. I half expected them to start wrestling on the floor!

Colin had the surprise of his life. He thought he would be spending his bday without family and now he had ALL of his brothers there in California. They could finally see where he worked, where he lived, where he spent his free time.

They could finally relate to things when they talked on the phone. California is a different planet from the North East...and you have to be there to understand the lifestyle. The brothers now knew how cold the ocean is, how eclectic the people are, how terrible the traffic is and how beautiful the scenery is. They finally understand why Colin is there.

We had a great time. Didn't do any of the typical "sight seeing" activities...just hung out and lived in Colin's world for 5 days.

For me, it was one of the best vacations that I have ever had. Not to mention that this was also Fathers Day, so it was heart warming to see Dad with all his boys! I will never forget the sounds of laughter, banter, and even the occasional argument. It actually makes me cry when I think about it....I hope that there are many more times just like this.

So hurry up Colin! We are all pulling for you to jumpstart your fabulous career! We want to come visit again soon! I want all the Boys together again!