Happy 30th Birthday, Liz!
I’m sure she’s had a happy day too; but we won’t write about
what she might be doing with her kid-free night while Naomi is with us and Eli
is with Uncle Nick and Aunt Deborah.
The reason I’m sure she’s having a great day is because he
top birthday gift was finding out that she’s going on the girls’ weekend away
with Mom, Aunt Leanne, and the other women.
There were at least a few people in her family in on the surprise; since
half of her gifts just happened to be perfect for a weekend of sun and fun –
especially the spending money that should more than cover her expenses and some
quality shopping time.
I wasn’t actually there for the gift opening or birthday
dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Ayres’ house because I was helping out at the Inn
instead; but they brought the birthday party to the Inn for game night, and
Miranda had a second birthday cake there for the main snack option. Before I get to that, though; let’s cover the
rest of the daily recap to that point.
While Mr. Ayres was having a good day because his older
sister was hitting the big three-oh; his students were mostly getting excited
about Lisa’s thirteenth birthday party tomorrow night. Weekend parties are always more fun; mostly
because we get to keep the fun going later than most parents allow on a school
night. Football is mercifully on the
back burner right now; though I’m sure that’ll kick up into high gear again
next week in the lead-up to the Super Bowl.
It was a pretty quiet morning at home before school, and
there isn’t much exciting happening in our classes right now either; though we
are pushing through quite a bit of work right now. That’s probably because we’ll get into
Valentine’s Day mode by early February; and our teachers want to push the core
lessons while they can – just as they will do between Valentine’s Day and
Easter.
We had a fair bit of homework to get done tonight, so
Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I worked on that at the Inn
until Michael and I really needed to stop and help out in the kitchen. I could have gone to Liz’s birthday dinner,
but new that her parents already had a full house; and one less kid just made
it a tiny bit easier for them – or two guests; since Miranda would have let
Michael go with me.
I didn’t really feel as though I was missing out on anything
tonight because I wouldn’t have gotten to spend much time with Liz anyway;
though hanging out with the toddlers or helping with the babies would have been
fun. Working in the kitchen with Michael
and Rebecca was great too, though; and I’m always glad to get that time with
them – and with Jacob and Miranda.
The dinner crowd was light again this week; so we had lots
of time to get the work done and the dining room cleaned and set up for game
night before the usual gang started showing up – plus the extras who came
specifically to help Liz celebrate her big day.
While her big birthday gift was a top story, my favorite part of that
was knowing that two more Moms were going to get that same surprise next Thursday
night – and both women were at the Inn tonight; lamenting that they couldn’t go
on the trip too. I’d like to be a fly on
the wall when they find out; but Mom probably won’t let me use a time-phase or
transmutation to do the next-best thing.
Then again, maybe I wouldn’t want to be there; depending on how
enthusiastic the thank-you responses might be! ;^)
Let’s not go there and move on. Game night was more entertaining with the
bonus birthday party action. Liz might
have liked to add a game night championship to her birthday memories, but she
was too distracted most of the time to pay much attention to the gaming; so she
and Philip didn’t even place top ten.
Michael and I did a bit better than that with a top three finish in the
junior championship; but then we spent as much time playing with Ethan, Ehlana,
Naomi, and Aiden as we did playing the games.
I would have liked to have some more time with Michael after
the games were finished, but Mom and Dad needed my help with four toddlers and
overnight gear for two of them, so we went home right after the championships
were announced; and I had to settle for a very unsatisfying, public good night
hug and kiss with Michael right before we left the Inn. Ethan, Ehlana, and their sleepover buddies
kept me too busy to think about that too much while we did an extended bedtime
routine with them that included a group Magi lesson; but that lack of Michael
and me time has a lot to do with why I’m still awake now – and managed to get a
lot of studying and work done tonight too.
That hadn’t been part of my plan for tonight, but I wasn’t
going to be sleeping anyway; so I went with putting that unused energy to
productive use – though a time-phase visit to Michael’s house did cross my mind
a time or three. It’s past-time for me
to get some sleep, though; so maybe I’ll get to that – and at least there’s a
good chance that I’ll see Michael there; preferably in ways that I wish we were
getting to share more often in real life.
Until next time...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
