Happy 34th Birthday, Owen!
Rowen and I don’t need to know how happy
his big day has been – or at least how it’s ending. She’s spending the night here and Patrick is
at Scott’s house; so her parents are kid-free for the night.
Getting to have a school night sleepover
and the birthday dinner at the Inn were both bonuses today; but everything else
was fairly normal for a Thursday. More
rain and even some thundershowers kept us – and everything else – on the damp
side today on the few occasions we actually went outside; but we kept that to a
minimum too. The rain didn’t really
affect our plans for the day much anyway – other than keeping us indoors at
lunchtime when we’d have rather been out.
My morning included birthday hugs and
kisses for Rowen’s father when I stopped in early to do that and wish him a
happy birthday while collecting Rowen on the way to school. I didn’t do the birthday gift thing then
because Michael and I did a joint gift this year; so we gave it to him at the
dinner instead. Parental birthdays
barely make the news network at school unless the person is also a teacher, so
Owen’s birthday wasn’t a big deal there. Other than going out to lunch at Sheldon’s
with Dad and some of the other guys, his work day was fairly uneventful too.
While our school day was mostly uneventful,
the action started picking up a bit when we got to the Inn after being set free
for the day. With a big birthday party
group added to the usual Thursday night dinner crowd, Miranda and Jacob had
extra staff in to handle the extra business.
Michael, Rebecca, and I tried to help out by getting our homework done
quickly so that we could work the prep lines too – especially since two out of
three of us were attending the birthday party – or at least part of it. Those hours between getting out of school and
the start of game night were really just a fun, happy blur for me; and even the
work before and after dinner was mostly entertaining.
Rowen, Tim, Michael, and I were at a ‘kids’
table with Ethan, Ehlana, Patrick, and Scott for dinner, and though Rowen and
Patrick spent some time with their father too; the rest of us were mostly on
the outside of the birthday action while the adults happily roasted their
friend while having their meals. There
was some minor weird here and there, including when Owen opened the gift that
Rowen and Tim had jointly gotten for him.
I have no idea why that seemed strange to me because I didn’t feel quite
the same way when Michael and I did our first joint gift for my father last
fall. Maybe it’s simply because Owen is
having a tougher time with his little girl growing up than my father is. Of course that might be different for Ehlana
than me; but we’ll see how that turns out in another nine years or so.
For some reason, Rowen’s parents didn’t
feel the need to stay for game night, so they went home after dinner. Michael and I were back in the kitchen by
then, so Rowen and Tim helped out with setting up the dining room for the
gaming while we were busy anyway. The
kitchen clean-up took longer than usual for a Thursday night, so a few of us
were late getting started on our first round of games. That didn’t really affect how Michael and I
played tonight, but we also weren’t in danger of winning the junior
championship either. Playing with Ethan,
Ehlana, and our friends was fun, though; and we didn’t mind the lack of
success.
One more bonus for tonight was that Rowen
and I got to do a Magi lesson together.
We really haven’t had many chances to do that lately; so that was an
entertaining hour of fun with Mom after we got home and tucked Ethan and Ehlana
in for the night. Rowen hopped into my
Jacuzzi after that and I got started on my studies and family business work while
she soaked in the tub. There was no way
that I was going to get my work done by midnight tonight, and Rowen and I have
had lots to talk about since she climbed into bed with Mandy and me an hour
ago; but we’re both pretty much ready to crash now and need to get what sleep
we can to be ready for school – and the upcoming weekend.
We don’t really have much planned for the
next few days so far, but there will be yard work again; and the parents were
talking about a night out for them on Saturday, so babysitting may be in my
future if they work that out. The downside
of that could be a serious lack of Michael and me alone time this weekend; but
Mom and Dad really don’t get to go out and play with their friends often
enough; so we’ll make the sacrifice if needed.
I’ll keep you posted on how that goes, but for now; that’s all I have,
so…
…Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the
Light!
