Happy 1st Anniversary, Uncle Nick and Aunt
Deborah!
Welcome home from your honeymoon, Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace!
I’m writing this report from Rowen’s bedroom because Mom and
Dad are getting a kid-free night after two weeks with a house full of them –
and after Dad’s week in Crystal
Springs. Ethan and Ehlana are staying with Grandma and
Grandpa; and Violet is in Woodvale tonight after taking Chris, Martin, Dawn,
and Jillian home. None of us want to
know the details about how our parents, or aunts and uncles, are keeping
themselves entertained tonight while enjoying their parental night off;
anniversary; or first night as a married couple in their new home town.
Rowen and I have both had a long, busy day; and we’re not
going to be staying awake much longer; though Patrick and Scott are still
playing their usual sleepover pranks and games, so we’ll need to deal with that
while trying to get some sleep. My day
started out quietly with Tai Chi by the river.
Michael didn’t stay for breakfast today, and was probably glad that he
wasn’t there for the mad dash we had trying to get everyone fed; ready for
church; and have Dawn, Jillian, Chris, and Martin packed to head home, and all
of their luggage loaded into Violet’s car.
That couple of hours was just a blur of non-stop
action. Mom, Dad, Violet, and I didn’t
really even sit down to eat breakfast – we just ate some food on the fly while
continuing to work. By the time we left
for church, I was ready for a break – and glad to have a little time to spend
with Michael before we’d both be busy again for the rest of the day. Mom and Dad took the minivan for the short
hop over to the church because it looked like it might rain before the end of
the service; and Violet drove her car because she was planning on leaving for
Woodvale from there. I met up with
Michael and we walked there before meeting up with my family again and sitting
with them for the first part of the service.
I was about to write that we were able to have a break and
catch our breath for the next hour or so, and though that is true; I don’t want
you, reading this some day in the future, to think that I don’t appreciate the
messages we’re taught at church and in Sunday school – even though I don’t
really write about that much in my journal.
The main reason that I don’t do that is worth mentioning because the
reason I don’t write about things like the Pastors’ messages or Sunday school
lessons has to do with the connection Magi Masters have with God. I honestly don’t even think about it much –
it’s just there the same as the rest of my senses. That’s a pretty big thing to sound so casual
about, but in a way; that’s exactly how it is for me. Mom is more contemplative and reflective
about that connection, and Ethan and Ehlana are as inquisitive about it as they
are about everything else; so their perspective is different than mine. I sense that there’s a reason for that; but I
haven’t been given the insight to know why – at least for now.
That’s something else I can usually accept fairly easily –
the limitations on what Ethan, Ehlana, and I are allowed to know about our
collective future and knowledge in general that goes beyond the ‘normal’
boundaries. I wasn’t thinking about any
of that this morning. It was enough to
spend the time with my family and friends; and enjoy sharing the love and joy
that always enfolds our congregation when we’re together.
I would have liked to have a little more time with Michael
after church, but he only stayed long enough to say goodbye to my cousins
before hurrying on to the Inn to help get ready for the lunch rush; and I was
kept busy with those goodbyes for more than a half hour before Violet left with
her car load for Woodvale; and Josiah took Chrissy and Jonathan to the half-way
home point where they’d be meeting their parents. I thought that having Josiah make that trip
was going to save Aunt Leanne a long day in a car, but she and Uncle Adam
headed out of town then too so they could get Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace from
the airport this afternoon. She could
have stayed home instead, and I’m sure that Josiah would have picked up the
return passengers if he’d been asked; so getting a fast food fix may have been
involved in the decision-making process.
Burgers and fries were not anything that was going to
motivate me today after having regular doses of that sort of thing for the past
two weeks. I was very happy with
vegetable soup and soft bakery buns for lunch; and the anniversary dinner party
buffet at the Inn we went to early this
evening. It seemed very quiet in the
house when we got home from church. We’d
had a couple of dustings of rain while we were at church, but it started to
rain more steadily after lunch.
Rowen had decided to spend the afternoon at the computer
store because of the rain; so it was just the five of us for lunch; and then
Dad needed to spend the afternoon working in the office. There was a lot of housework and laundry to
do, so Mom and I both worked on that for about three hours. Yes, there were a lot more than six man-hours
of work to do, but using a little Magi power was an option; and we had some
help with that from Ethan and Ehlana while Mom made some of the work a lesson
for them. I’m sure that we were all
really happy to have the chance to use our talents again after two weeks of
rarely getting to do anything.
Getting that work finished early allowed me to grab a
shower; get ready for Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah’s anniversary dinner party;
and then go over to the Inn to hang out with Michael and Rebecca – and help out
during the first buffet rush. We were
booked for the late buffet so that all shop-owning family members could attend;
and to allow extra time if there had been any flight delays for Uncle Mark and
Aunt Grace. That worked out even better
for me than I’d expected. I had a blast
playing in the kitchen for a couple of hours; and then Miranda let Michael and
Rebecca have dinner with us once the first wave of food for the second buffet
hit the tables.
We were at a kids table with Rowen, Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi,
and Aiden; so I missed out on most of the anniversary roast and the public and
family-rated honeymoon stories. Mom will
give me the report tomorrow sometime; and I won’t want the in-depth details
whenever she and Aunt Leanne and Aunt Deborah get the chance to have the
honeymoon debriefing chat I did hear mentioned tonight.
Having four toddlers to feed and entertain kept us busy, but
I really love how great Michael is with Ethan and Ehlana; and we always have
fun with them. I also liked having a
family meal that didn’t include any tweeirdness. With Chris, Martin, and Jonathan gone, we
didn’t have any of the extra tweens and teens with us either; and I sure you
can guess that not having Vanessa or Nora around directly and inversely
affected the tweeird level.
It wasn’t until we were getting ready to go home that Ethan,
Ehlana, and I found out that we wouldn’t be staying at home tonight. Michael had already gone back to work in the
kitchen by then, so with the need to pack an overnight bag added to the
schedule; I had to make the goodnight hug and kiss with him – and the round of
hugs I shared with Miranda, Jacob, Jake, Stephanie, and Rebecca – fairly short
before getting a ride home with Mom and Dad.
Rowen came with us and helped me pack; and then we walked over to her
house.
There was some work to do there too, and Rowen and I helped
her parents for about an hour before they went up to bed and Rowen and I
decided to watch a show in the living room.
We had to put up with extra doses of Patrick and Scott to do that; and
eventually just gave up and came upstairs to Rowen’s room for the rest of the
night. We got ready for bed, dodged the
boys while taking turns in the bathroom, and then climbed into her bed with our
computers.
I haven’t done any work tonight, but there were some email
to deal with from Chrissy, Violet, Dawn, and Jillian. Violet’s glad to be home, and got to spend
some time with her friends tonight. Dawn
and Jillian are doing a sleepover at Jillian’s after having a barbeque dinner
with both families. Chrissy misses
Josiah already, so I’ll guess that there may be an extra trip where she comes
here again or he goes to visit her between now and when they both head for
college in three weeks. Jake and
Stephanie leave for New York in three weeks too, and Violet and Dillon head for
Kansas State in just four weeks. Let’s not think about that tonight. I’d like to stay in denial for just a little
while longer!
After two busy play weeks, Rowen and I are going to get back
to work, but we’re also going to help out with kid control too while the
Everetts, Seagers, and Drapers move into their new houses this week. That’ll probably be more fun than actually
doing the moving work; but I’d still like to help out with that a bit too if I
can. We haven’t planned anything for the
next couple of days with Michael; and I have no idea whether Tim will be
spending much time with us now that our house – or Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s
place – won’t be tween and teen central.
Not having the guys around here hanging out with my cousins
might put a damper on the summer challenge for Rowen and me; but I won’t be
terribly surprised to see ‘Tommy’ finding excuses to be in the same general
vicinity as Rowen on a regular basis. If
not, I’m sure we can find other ways to get his attention without being too
obvious about it.
Yes, I know we’ve only got six weeks left until the Labor
Day weekend, Rowen. Shouldn’t you be
more optimistic about getting that kiss with him than the prospect of me losing
the challenge? She’s joking about that
depending on how good the kiss would be, but you think he’s your perfect match,
Rowen; so that should be a given.
We probably shouldn’t be getting on that train of thought
right before we go to sleep, but then I do have a different perspective on the
dreams that include Michael in a starring role these days; so I don’t need to
start not thinking about soft, cuddly bunnies.
I should wrap this up and put my computer away. Maybe if we turn the lights out and keep the
noise down; Patrick and Scott will get the hint and leave us alone.
It might work – I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging
out!