Jacqueline Wasn't Ready for the Retreat

Hi! Happy Birthday America!

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July, we sure did! I’ve been enjoying amazing RED, WHITE, AND BLUE spirit on the beach with my family; Rich and the kids are hilarious and keep me laughing till my stomach hurts, and Nonni always knows best when it comes to cooking and family. (Follow me on Instagram @officialkathywakile to see pictures!) We are so glad and grateful to have her around to celebrate and share these quality times.

Every year we try to get down to Florida with both my mom and Richie’s mom, unfortunately my mother-in-law had to cancel at the last minute. We missed her so much this week. We’ll just have to take another trip really soon with our two dueling chefs/grandmas. Both moms take over and it’s Italian/Lebanese cuisine every night.

A girl can get very used to the holiday vacation  mode, I am sure you all can agree, but that's what being "off" means -- let your hair down, be yourself with the ones you love, because they love you no matter WHAT! Hope you all are having as good a summer as we are!
 
Now on to the show...Having a test kitchen is amazing, but like anything new it takes a minute to get acclimated. All of the sudden I have a lot of space and it's SO quiet!   I'm used to everyone getting in my way, asking for this or that, and tasting my new creations. Finding balance isn't as easy as one would think, but I am doing my best and as Rich and I always say, keep living and learning -- life's journey is what you make of it; thank you Rich, I love you.
 
I know you all think Rosie is tough, but I know her better than anyone! She really is all bark with that tough exterior, but on the inside she's all heart. You know, tough on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside, kind of like cannoli, coconut, Italian bread, bagels, truffles, etc.  Mmmm, all that sounds good, don't you think? Rosie always cracks me up, but as she's telling me about her meeting with Teresa, I'm laughing because she gets so heated and then she laughs at herself. She's all in for the retreat and signs me and Rich up too!  Hey, wait a minute!
 
As for Joe Gorga and his bright ideas... Pole dancing, really!?  For me, some things are best left private. Call me crazy, but that's how I feel and that's that. But if you have to know, in my opinion, there's is something sexy about a guy doing dishes and taking out the trash or drawing me a nice bubble bath and pouring me a red velvet cosmo! Now that’s pretty sexy. Girls, you're all with me on this, right?

Can Richie be any more sarcastic? Next...As we talked more about this retreat I realized that Jacqueline and Chris were really not ready to do this based on what was happening with Nicholas and his therapy. It was becoming apparent that this is more involved than any of us really even knew, and it wasn't fair for us to keep pushing for them to come. At that time I was thinking that we ALL needed a retreat or an insane asylum (inserting the signature Wakile sarcasm as usual). 

I was thinking, now that I've been watching the episodes like all of you, I'm understanding more and more of what Jacqueline and Chris were really going through with Nick. It's one thing to hear them tell you their struggles, but to actually see it as an ongoing daily process is something else. I now see how unfair it was to try and convince her to join us and expect her or anyone else to resolve their conflicts before they feel ready. At the same time, maybe it would just be better if it was just our family. Wait and see, it is unbelievable when you observe every emotion out there and more...
 
Regarding shopping with Jacqueline and the phone call, let's just say you can't make this stuff up!  I wanted her to come with me to one of my favorite boutiques. It is so great to see Jacqueline getting out and getting her sexy back. We all need to be reminded that we are more than just mommy. Girl time is a very good thing.

We all understand that Rosie and Teresa made some progress. However, at this point I wasn't so sure that I wanted to join them on the retreat.  Teresa mentioned many times that she was not ready to move forward with me, and so I decided to step back and let it happen when she was ready.  So I was really surprised to get a call from her.  When Teresa asked me to come I wasn't going to just sit there and not take the opportunity to see if we could get back to a good place for us all.   
 
Hang on my friends, next week we retreat to the mysterious castle. Stay with us as we find out if it’s haunted or magical. You won’t want to miss this. Keep watching, and thanks for the support!
 
Lots of love,
Xoxo Kathy
 
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