The highlight of my day was the time I got to spend with
Grandma and Grandpa tonight; and I especially loved getting to hear a lot of
travel stories from their weeks in India,
Pakistan, and southern Europe. Grandpa
really knows how to tell those stories, and even the often-annoying travel
issues seem to be little adventures from his perspective.
Nothing particularly exciting happened at school today – at
least compared to our dinner and evening entertainment. It was still cold first thing this morning
when Michael came over for Tai Chi, but warmed up above freezing by this
afternoon; and that allowed the construction crews to at least do a bit of work
at the new medical center site this afternoon.
They’ll be able to do more work through the rest of the week if the
weather cooperates, and it is supposed to get a bit warmer every day through
the rest of the week.
That means that I should probably get Ethan and Ehlana out
for a little sledding before the snow from last weekend disappears, but I don’t
know if we’ll have time for that with everything else we have going on right
now. They are unofficial collegians now;
and that’s keeping them fairly busy as they’re already closing in on finishing the
first semester of their freshman year.
Since today was also a KidZone play day for them too, it seems funny to
think about that and their college work; and that’s something that they do that
I didn’t when I was their age – spend time at a daycare. Yes, my circumstances were different, and not
making those kinds of attachments when Mom and I often needed to run again
without notice was probably better for me; but I’m honestly not sure which I
would have preferred if I had been allowed the choice. Ethan and Ehlana love spending time with their
friends, but they also sometimes get frustrated when that gets in the way of
their ‘real’ education.
They didn’t have a problem with taking the night off from
their studies to spend the time with Grandma and Grandpa; and they also happily
made sure that our grandparents started catching up on the hugs, kisses, and
cuddles they’d all missed out on while they were away. I didn’t get in on that very much by
comparison, but then that’s changing anyway now that I’m a teen – and I did
have Michael there to cuddle with instead while we sat in the living room and
visited for a couple of hours after dinner.
Grandma and Grandpa are keeping their own travel journals
now, so I won’t second-hand their stories here, but if you’re interested in the
work they’re doing for the family business; check out that section of the
archives. The stories were just the
entertainment anyway, and what really mattered was spending the time together
and feeling the strong sense of family and love in the house. I don’t ever take that for granted for even a
moment; but I should mention it here in my journal more often. Sometimes I get so caught up in writing about
the little things that I don’t mention the most important things in my life –
the love I share with my family and friends.
That’s mostly because that isn’t ‘news’ – it just is; and as much a part
of my life now as breathing or eating.
Speaking of eating, I may need to cut back on that for a day
or two. This was my third day in a row
for a major meal, and even my metabolism has needed to kick into high gear to
keep up. While the Sunday night buffet
and another amazing dinner at Michael’s house last night contributed to that;
it was the special, Shrove Tuesday, Olde Bakery treats combined with our
pancake dinner that helped me to hit tilt tonight. While this isn’t exactly a major event in Witch Falls,
lots of families do make it a Pancake Day; and the Olde Bakery was
experimenting with a delicious Paczki recipe that they should definitely make
an annual event.
I skipped over band practice and our study session at the
computer store, but it was a fairly short band practice without anything going
on worth mentioning; and our study time wrapped up early too so that Michael
and I could get home to help Mom with the pre-dinner work. While whipping up a large batch of pancakes
wasn’t much work; there were a half-dozen sides to go with the fluffy entree;
and Michael and I were on the prep line for all of that – along with setting
the dining room table too. We were also
on the clean-up crew of two after dinner – though that was my choice; and I
drafted Michael.
He seemed happy enough to work for hugs and kisses; so don’t
feel too sorry for him!
The rest of the evening was all fun and entertainment – at least
until Grandma, Grandpa, and Michael went home after Ethan and Ehlana were
tucked in for the night. Then it was
time for me to get to work; starting with my Magi lesson with Mom. I’ve followed that up with another three
hours and change of work while tucked into bed and cuddling with Mandy; and
that’s all added up to another late night for me. I’ll try to catch up on a little sleep
tomorrow night, but don’t worry – I won’t be giving up any of my
responsibilities for Lent just for the chance to get more rest. ;^)
I won’t be giving up any alone time with Michael either,
though we didn’t get to have any of that tonight; and who knows how many
opportunities we’ll even have for that between now and Easter. It’s not looking good for that over the next
few days; but I still have some hope for the weekend!
It is really late, and spending a little time dreaming about
Michael and me seems like a much better idea right now than doing any more work
with my computer; so that’s all I have for now, and I’m out of here.
Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
