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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Cassie's Journal - July 21, 2013



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!