I cut Mom and Dad some slack this morning, and exercised
alone so they could have a little extra time to sleep. My internal alarm clock went off early, and
that was mostly because I knew how busy it was going to be once everyone
started juggling bathroom time; and we worked through a major breakfast and
clean-up. Tai Chi was just about the
only quiet moment I had from the time I got out of bed until I climbed back in
again tonight.
Tai Chi was followed immediately by toddler time. Ethan and Ehlana woke first; and I was second
on the scene. Aunt Leanne had fun this
afternoon teasing me about that, because Michael got there first; so we took
care of my brother, sister, and their three friends for nearly half an hour
until reinforcements woke up and took over.
Yes, Aunt Leanne, he is very good with kids; Ethan and Ehlana do love
him; we did have fun playing in Ehlana’s room while waiting for Mom and Dad to
get up; and no, none of that is going to push me into crossing over and looking
at Michael or any other guy in a boyfriend kind of way.
Spending that time with Michael wasn’t even the weirdest
moment of the morning, but Rowen and I didn’t tell anyone about seeing Tim
leaving the second-floor guest bathroom after his shower - when he was only
wearing a pair of shorts. I’ll guess
that he was as surprised as we were; so hopefully that won’t be a story that
gets out onto the town grapevine for years.
It’s not as if we’ve never seen Tim in shorts or a swimsuit before, but
that still isn’t the same as crossing paths with him like that in the hallway
of my house right after he’d gotten out of the shower.
Juggling bathroom time was the toughest part of getting
everyone ready to go to church. That was
a bit busier before breakfast for the guys, since they were sharing one
bathroom while the girls had both third-floor baths, but after breakfast; my
bathroom was hair and make-up central right up until we needed to leave. Add in the kitchen clean-up and toddler
supervision, and there were a few of us wishing that we could stay home and
have a nap.
It was a chilly walk to church, but that was easier than
dealing with car seats and extra cars and drivers; and we did have some help
from Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Miranda, Jacob, and Bill and Sylvia Bassett. None of us kids want or need to know why
three out of four of those couples looked so happy this morning. I am glad that they all did have a fun night
out together, though – especially since they work so hard; and don’t get to go
play with kids their own ages very often.
With just over a week to go until Christmas, we – the kids
and teens – spent most of our Sunday school time getting ready for the big show
next Sunday night and the Christmas Eve service. Rowen and I aren’t involved in the performing
end of any of that; but we were put to work helping out with sets, props, and
costumes, and had a lot of fun playing with everyone else who was working on
that with us.
After getting home from church, we had another flurry of
action for the kids that had needed to come back with us to pick up their
overnight bags. I was put to work
gathering up laundry and giving the guest bathrooms a quick clean before lunch
while Rowen stayed and helped out with Ethan and Ehlana; and Mom and Dad made
lunch for us. Dad was working all
afternoon, so Mom had offered to help Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam with the
pre-cooking they were doing today to get ready for his family’s Christmas next
weekend.
Rowen and I took care of Ethan and Ehlana; splitting our
time between home, Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s, and a long walk that included
a visit to the computer store and some random shopping at the Emporium, Olde
Bakery, and Palmer’s. Bringing home the
bakery treats earned us hugs, kisses, and cups of hot chocolate and a
mid-afternoon break that Dad joined us for; and then we were free to play again
until we went home to get ready for the late buffet at the Inn.
We were doing the late dinner so that the Emersons and
Carringtons could join us, and it seemed like quite a few of our neighbors and
friends had the same idea tonight; since the Ayres, Palmer, Draper, Landry, and
Bassett clans were almost all at the Inn too.
That worked out great for setting up some kid tables, and Rowen and I
ended up sitting with Carolyn Landry, Erica Bassett, Anna-Marie Palmer, Ehlana,
Naomi, and Sophia. We’ve rarely gotten
to spend much time with the older girls since we played baseball in the same
division my first summer in Witch Falls; and I loved getting an hour and a half
or so to hang out with them. Rowen was
more interested in the boy-talk, but hearing about Christmas plans was fun; and
we both thought it was cool that Carolyn wants to do what she can to get us on
her baseball team again for next summer.
Hopefully that isn’t because they’re hoping for another season of
pre-game motivational hugs and kisses with my father, but then from what they
told us; there are more than enough guys willing to help them out with any
hugging and kissing needs they have anytime and anywhere. That might just be the only thing about
playing baseball with them that scares me – all of the guys hanging around them
next season.
Let’s not think anymore about things like that so close to
bedtime. Rowen went home with her
parents and brother from the Inn, and back at our house, we ended our evening
with a short Magi lesson and some play time before Ethan and Ehlana were tucked
in for the night; Mom and Dad went to bed early too, but not to sleep, I’m
sure; and I came up to my room to spend some quality time with my Jacuzzi. With just five days left until the holidays,
I worked on my computer too, both while I was in the tub and after getting into
bed with Mandy. Two hours of archive and
language studies and a half-hour of email, news, sports, and entertainment
checks later; and I’m past-ready to get some sleep, so...
...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.
“Goodnight, Cassie.”
