Mother Nature finally cooperated and we’ve had perfect
weather for Memorial Day!
I really mean perfect too, because the day started out
cloudy and dull; and stayed appropriately somber until after the Memorial Day
parade and service at the cemetery.
Before I get to that, though, there was a lot of action
going on at home before we left to watch the parade. Mom, Dad, and I exercised by the river, and
today we had Violet keeping Ethan and Ehlana entertained while we worked
through our Tai Chi forms. Mom and Dad
went with a buffet-style light breakfast; and everyone took turns having
showers, getting ready for the day; helping with the picnic preparations; kid
control; and clean-ups. Uncle Rick and
Aunt Melissa had the toughest job – getting Chris, Martin, and Jonathan up and
moving. They looked like Zombies right
up until they needed to be cool once we were out in public; so there must have
been at least some dramatic acting going into their efforts to stay home and
sleep until lunchtime.
The parade was nearly identical again this year, and the
only changes are with the participants – and that’s mostly among the kid and
teen groups. Today, we met up with
Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of our families at the corner of Witch Falls Road
and Blossom Ave;
in front of the farm equipment side of Landry’s properties. That meant a longer wait before the first
elements of the parade passed us, but a much shorter walk for Aunt Leanne and
the younger kids.
Pastor Lewis led the service at the cemetery, and this year,
I did the story time tour with Doc Johnson and most of their family so I could
hear all of the family stories that he told his grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. Kara had been
thrilled to have me along; and she ended up staying with Dawn and me after we
walked home again. That actually worked
out pretty well for us because Rowen met up with us at the house; and we were
allowed to take Kara, Eddie, Ethan, and Ehlana to the park – mostly to get all
of us out from underfoot while everyone else was busy getting Dad’s truck
loaded up with the food donations and picnic supplies.
This year, Mom and Dad were both on food crews instead of
park clean-up; so the Grandparents were in charge of kid control until after
we’d all eaten. Rowen, Dawn, and I were
at the playground with our four little swing and slide enthusiasts for an hour
and a half before we were rounded up to have lunch. Kara, Eddie, Ethan, and Ehlana had plates of
food and drinks ready for them, while Rowen, Dawn, and I were sent over to the
Pavilion to get in one of the lines so we could choose what we wanted for
ourselves.
We were also set free from babysitting services for the rest
of the afternoon too, so after sitting down to eat at the not-so-little day
camp the Grandparents had set up; we were able to play some of the games and
join in for some of the other activities that the younger kids couldn’t do with
us. Kara was a little disappointed about
that, but she was diverted easily enough with ice cream and playing some of the
games that were set up specifically for the younger kids.
After lunch, but before we started playing games, we made a
stop to see Miranda and Jacob, and to see if Rebecca wanted to hang out with us
for a couple of hours. I’d seen Jacob’s
parents, sister, and her family a few times before, but today was the first
time I was introduced to all of them; and they were all very proud of the
newest addition to their family. Baby
Gerry already had a fair bit of black hair and enough of the looks from the
Stone family to make sure that he’d be recognized as a member – particularly
around Jacob, Jake, or Rebecca. He slept
through our introduction – even while Miranda passed him to me for a couple of
minutes while we had our little cameo chat time.
Rebecca and Michael both came with us when we moved along;
mostly because their best friends were each spending the afternoon with their
respective girlfriend and boyfriend. In
Michael’s case, I suspect he was also trying to dodge yet another attempt to
get him together with Vanessa. I think
we were all happy to spend a couple of tweeird-free hours together; and the
best part of the afternoon was the time we got to spend playing games with Mom,
Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana. The twins wanted
to go for a canoe ride too, so Michael and I took Ethan while Dawn and Rowen
had Ehlana; and Rebecca helped Mom and Dad do an ice cream run while we went
for our short little charity-supporting paddle.
It was time to pack up by four o’clock, and Rebecca,
Michael, and Rowen all needed to go and help their own families with doing that
while Dawn and I were put to work watching Ethan, Ehlana, Kara, and Eddie again
while the adults and teens were busy with the camp clean-up; and getting
everything back home again. We played in
the back yard while cars, minivans, and SUV’s were loaded and all of our guests
got ready to hit the road. Regardless of
where everyone had been staying all weekend, our house was departure central –
at least for the rolling rounds of goodbye hugs and kisses. The Johnsons and McEwans were first to leave
by five o’clock; and the Rice family vehicles pulled out of the driveway at
five-thirty.
The scene in our driveway and front yard was being mirrored
at the Stones and Emersons houses; and once our guests had gone, I was sent
over to both places to invite Jacob, Miranda, Owen, Patricia, and all of their
kids to come for a leftovers and bring whatever you have barbeque dinner. Dad needed to get started on the work waiting
for him in the office, but Grandpa, Uncle Adam, Uncle Nick, and Jacob were
happy to share grilling duties while the Moms and Grandmothers put together the
assorted side dishes.
Rowen, Rebecca, Michael, and I played with Ethan and Ehlana
until everything was ready, and then we sat by the river to eat while the
adults and teens sat around a few tables near the back porch. We were given get-out-of-cleanup cards too,
and Michael, Rowen, and I took Ethan and Ehlana for a bike ride after we ate;
while Rebecca was just ready to go home and relax for the rest of the night by
then. Our ride included a construction
site tour; a loop of the main park trail; and some more playground action now
that the place wasn’t packed with kids and teens. Mom and Dad were on their own by the time we
got home, and we all did a little ice cream break with him in the office so
that he could keep working while we gave him the bike ride recap.
Mom took Ethan and Ehlana upstairs to give them baths after
that, and Rowen, Michael, and I sat out on the back porch and talked for a
little while before they both headed home for the night. I helped Mom with the tail end of the bedtime
routine for the twins, and after getting them tucked in; she did a short
Transmutation lesson with me before going to work in the office with Dad while
I came up to my room for a little Jacuzzi action and to get started on my usual
school-night archive and language studies.
And that’s all there is to report for today. It’s been fun, but final exams and
end-of-year testing starts next Monday; and that’s going to make for a couple
of serious weeks at school. I wasn’t
really thinking about it until now, but these exams are going to be an
especially big deal for the high school seniors; though I’m not worried about
Violet, Dillon, Jake, or Stephanie messing up their college plans with any last
minute bad-grade bombs.
Since Rowen mentioned doing study groups this week to help
us get ready for our own exams, I should probably wrap this up and get to
sleep. We’ve been having fun studying
with Michael and Tim, but that does mean that we actually have to study too –
even though I finished my first round of Grade Seven exams before I was two;
and don’t need to study at all.
Oh well – maybe we’ll be able to help Tim do better on his
exams – it’s not like Rowen, Michael, or I can improve on our straight-A+’s.
Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging
out!
