It seems like just yesterday that I was lamenting the lack
of alone time with Michael. Oh yeah, it
was; but then it turned out that I finished up my journal a bit prematurely.
Michael was having trouble sleeping too, and he was already
in Zack’s room by the time I made it downstairs; so we worked together to get
him fed, changed, and cuddled back to sleep.
Then we spent a little quality time saying goodnight to each other in a
completely non-verbal sort of way – for a half-hour or so; until we heard
someone get up to use one of the bathrooms on the third floor, and decided it
was time to get to bed. Trust me, those
make-out moments were totally worth waking up still tired for – or from.
Tai Chi with Michael and good morning hugs and kisses were
worth waking up early for too; though Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana all skipped
it today so we were on our own for that.
We also had the coffee brewed; pancake batter ready to go; the skillets
hot; and a first batch of sausages nearly cooked by the time Mom and Dad made
it downstairs. Alicia and Erin were on
kid control with help from Rebecca and Rowen – and from Tim once they were able
to convince him that it really was morning.
Rowen and Tim were smiling nearly as brightly as Michael and I were when
they came downstairs; but I’m sure that had nothing to do with how Rowen had
finally managed to get him to wake up – not!
Juggling food, shower, and kid and baby time made for a
crazy two and a half hours or so until we had parents picking up their little
or not so little angels and heading for church.
I was ready for a nap by then, but we – the kids and teens – only had a
short reprieve until Sunday school started; and then we were busy again with all
of the work that still needed to get finished for the Christmas pageant next
Sunday night. The church services are
always longer leading into Christmas, so Michael had to hurry to the Inn right away while I stayed with my family until we
were all ready to go home. Rowen came
with us too, but only stayed long enough to grab her things and take them
home. She was working at the computer
store all afternoon to make up for taking the day off on Saturday – though that
was mostly because she wanted to rebuild her bank account again after putting a
big dent in it on the Christmas shopping trip.
Dad’s in Crystal
Springs next week, so he
needed to hide in the office all afternoon and evening; and I had some play
time with Ethan and Ehlana while he and Mom were both busy. I helped Mom with the post-sleepover clean-up
too, but we cheated to get everything except the laundry done fast; and that
was just some more play time with the twins too as we turned that into a lesson
too. Michael came over to hang out with me
during his afternoon break; and then I went back to the Inn
with him to help with the buffet shift until my family got there for the late
buffet.
That gave us time to spend with Jake and Stephanie; though
they stopped working when I did so that they could have dinner with our
collective families – and with Violet, Dillon, Christina, and Josiah. We were having dinner at the late buffet so
that most of the family business owners could join us; and we needed a pretty
good chunk of the tables to have room for the Palmer, Wingborough, Bassett, Johnson,
Carrington, and Proctor clans. The kids
were on the edges of that fun, and while I did get to talk to Violet and Dillon
for a few minutes; they were too busy for more than that, and I helped out with
kid control during dinner while the parents and college teens were getting reacquainted.
Ethan, Ehlana, and I were able to spend more time with
Violet and Dillon when they came home with us after dinner; and we got to have
them for a while mostly because Dad was going to be away all week. That was a fun hour or so, but they were both
tired, and while Violet had dropped most of her things off in her usual room at
our house; she was staying with Dillon at his house tonight. Their comparatively early departure had just
as much to do with the fact that it was a school night for me; Dad needed to
pack and get some sleep before his early morning start; and it was bedtime for
Ethan and Ehlana.
Mom was tired too, so we skipped our Magi lessons
tonight. It would be more accurate to
report that she was too tired for both Magi lessons and some goodbye time with
Dad before they went to sleep, but let’s not go there; and I was okay with
getting an earlier than expected start to my multi-tasking Jacuzzi and study
time. I’m tired too – especially after
the late night time with Zack and Michael last night; but there was work I
needed to get done that couldn’t wait for me to get rested up again. The Jacuzzi time helped a little, but it’s
past one-thirty now; I hit the wall and wrapped up my work before doing a last
quick email check and getting started on this; and I’m ready to be unconscious
for a while.
I guess the big event this week is the start of the
Christmas holiday after school on Friday, but once I’ve had some sleep; I’m
going to be more excited about the school Christmas concert on Thursday – and
not just because I already know that this coming weekend will be mostly work
time to get ready for the holidays and family Christmas weekend. Michael and I want to put in more practice
time over the next few days, so hopefully we’ll be able to work that into our
schedules; but I’ll need to help Mom more with Dad away, and it would be nice
to spend some extra time with Violet too.
We’ll see how that goes, but all I want to do right now is get what
little sleep I can before we’ll be getting up to see Dad before he leaves,
so...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
