If the weather is a factor in determining the name of this
holiday; then sunny day with temperatures into the seventies definitely
qualifies this as Spring Break – though it’s going to be much colder
tomorrow. That’s only going to last for
one day; and it’s supposed to be nicer again on Monday.
Our first day of our vacation has been awesome – at least
from my perspective. I missed having
Michael with us for Tai Chi, but he was working the breakfast shift at the Inn so he could have more time to hang out with Tim,
Rowen, and me once we were available to play for the day. While I missed the good morning hugs and
kisses – and Tai Chi – with Michael; having Rowen with us for breakfast was
great; and Dad went with the full country breakfast to fuel us up for a busy
morning of chores. That started for me
as soon as Rowen left to meet up with her parents at the computer store; and I
worked straight through until lunchtime.
Nearly everything I did except for cleaning my own rooms was outdoors;
and Dad and I both loved being out in the fresh air for a few hours. The father-daughter time was nice too, and I
was again reminded that we don’t get to do that very often – whether it’s
working or playing. We’re both just too
busy.
Let’s add that the my list of things that never end up
happening; and maybe we’ll manage to have a few of those special moments now
and then even if we don’t get a chance to do much where we’re not in groups
with friends and family. I’m sure that’s
one more thing that is different for me because of my perspective from years of
having Mom’s undivided attention and us counting on each other; but I’d also
never change anything now in trade for more one-on-one time with either of my
parents.
The early spring chores continued today, and while we won’t
need to mow the lawn for a little while yet, we have a big yard; and there is a
lot of work to keep up with. My jobs
included cleaning up winter debris from along the river; and raking out the
flower gardens. The truck and van got
washed again too so they’d be shiny and clean for the trips to the city they’d
each be making on Monday. Most of the
other jobs were small, and while Dad had other work to get done today; I was
set free shortly after Michael came over after finishing up at the Inn until he needed to be back for the dinner rush. He’d stayed at the Inn
all morning until the prep work was done for the lunch rush, and he helped me
finish my last chore; but then we both had almost the entire afternoon off to
play.
Mom had an easy-lunch nearly ready by then, so we ate
quickly before getting our bikes; hooking up the trailer; and taking Ethan and
Ehlana for a ride. We collected Rowen
and Tim along the way; and then we all went for a ride north of town. That hour-long tour around the country roads
was a blast, and we followed that up with a visit to the Emporium for ice
cream, drinks, and snacks before we biked over to the park for our little
picnic and some playground fun. While it
wasn’t in our afternoon plans, a pick-up football game was put together after a
few guys who’d started tossing a football around attracted enough guys for a
small scrimmage – including Michael and Tim.
Okay, they attracted you too, Ethan, and Michael helped you
join in for a few plays; but they didn’t count you on the team – unless you
include that extra man on the field penalty joke the other team tried to use
when you and Michael scored that touchdown.
The field was fairly soft, and Rowen and I weren’t at all
interested in playing today; but we ended up having lots of company to chat
with while sitting on the bleachers with Ehlana and watching the action. Some of the girls were there with boyfriends,
the same as we were; but others were there to check out the guys – especially a
handful of visiting cousins and friends.
By the time Michael or Tim reads this it won’t matter to them; but Rowen
and I were particularly interested in the girls who were happily checking out
our boyfriends with a bit too much interest.
No, we weren’t jealous or worried; though Rowen was a bit
annoyed by Tim’s reaction to the attention.
He likes it and tries to show off even more than usual, and Rowen wishes
he was more like Michael; since my boyfriend pretends not to notice – even
though he does. He’s a normal guy and it
is an ego boost for him too; but he also tries his best not to give off any
signals that might be taken the wrong way – particularly with teenage girls.
The football action meant that we needed to wrap up our play
afternoon early enough that Michael could stop in at home and get changed and
cleaned up before going back to the Inn; and I ended up going home with just
Ethan and Ehlana when Rowen and Tim decided to go over to his house and hang
out there until dinnertime. I took the
twins inside first; put my bike and the trailer away next; and then we did a
little afternoon recap with Mom in the kitchen while she worked on our dinner
and Dad was busy in the office. Spaghetti
with veal cutlets is one of my favorite meals, and while I didn’t help with
that; I did toss the salad and get the garlic bread with cheese ready to put
into the oven while Mom threw an apple crisp together to have for dessert.
Dad took a couple of hours off from work to eat, help with
the clean-up, and then go for a walk with Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and me that
included some cameo chats along the way; but then he went back to work again
while Mom and I took care of bath time for Ethan and Ehlana. We got that done by the time Michael came over
again after finishing at the Inn; and he and I
took my brother and sister up to the lounge to watch a movie and cuddle with
them.
Without company around to worry about, we picked ‘The
Pacifier’, and while it’s hardly a best-ever kind of movie; Ethan and Ehlana
sure enjoyed it more than some of the shows they’re stuck with when they have
to play ‘normal’ toddlers. I guess
that’s one down side I’ll give them compared to when I was their age. I never had to worry about things like that
when it was just Mom and me. Of course I
also couldn’t stream movies to my iPad or computer; hook up a hard drive to my
television; or watch shows in high-definition like they can now. Oh well, at least I didn’t have to walk ten
miles each way to and from school like Grandpa Grant did – up hill both ways;
in fifteen feet of snow; while dodging dinosaurs that tried to have the kids
and teens for breakfast or afternoon snacks.
It should be fun finding out how wild those stories can get
the longer I live here. Even Lee’s farm
equipment bench-pressing legend has grown a lot in just a few years; though the
funniest thing about that is the fact that the real story would be even wilder
than the legend-in-the-making.
While I loved spending that time with my brother and sister,
I was also good with having some alone time with Michael when the movie was
over and we handed them off to Mom and Dad to do their bedtime story and tuck
them in for the night on their way to bed.
Since we’d already watched one Vin Diesel movie, Michael and I decided
to watch the latest installment in the Riddick series. We didn’t let watching that get in the way of
some quality play time; and we were both very happy campers by the time he
needed to head home for twelve-thirty.
It was raining and getting cooler by then, but I still went
outside to share one last goodnight kiss or three with Michael before watching
him run home and share those last smiles and waves before we both went
inside. Mandy was already sleeping on my
bed by the time I got upstairs again, and she ignored me when I jostled her
while getting into bed too and settling down with my computer. While I wasn’t planning on doing much more
than writing this and checking my email, Rowen was online too, so we had a
chat; and I took care of a pair of work-related email while we exchanged
messages and told each other about what we’d each been doing with our
boyfriends and families.
That was fun, but I’ve gone two nights in a row with staying
up late; and I’m ready for some downtime now.
Tomorrow is going to mostly be another play day for Ethan, Ehlana, and
me; though I’m also going to help out at the Inn
for the buffet shift. My plans for
tomorrow night include some Jacuzzi time and heading off to bed early so I’ll
be ready for three days of fun in the city; and I hope that works out since I’m
fairly sure that we’ll have some more fun, late nights ahead of us while we’re
in Crystal Springs.
Michael and I are thirteen, and we’ll be watching Ethan and
Ehlana each night; so don’t take that the wrong way. Then again, I don’t have to have toddler
chaperones in my dreams, and on that note; I’m suddenly feeling very sleepy.
;^)
Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
