I’ve been as busy today as yesterday; but
without as much work – at least through until I started my usual bedtime
studies and work tonight.
We were back outdoors again for Tai Chi
this morning, and though we still needed to dress warmly enough to do that; at
least it wasn’t practically freezing out.
That was a good start to the day, and then I needed to rush around a bit
to get ready for church and then hurry over to Michael’s house in time for
breakfast with his family. That was an
amazing hour and a half of food and entertainment. Having Jake and Stephanie home was great; and
we all loved hearing some of their college stories. Today, that was mostly about their final exam
and travel adventures; and it was especially fun to see Jacob and Jake working
together in the kitchen again – and trying out a couple of dishes that Jake has
been experimenting with at school.
Having college teens home for the summer
was a big deal at church today, and while that meant that my favorite members
of that group were kept busy before and after the service and Sunday school; I
also got to make the rounds and visit with others – like Isabelle and
Andrew. There’s a good chance that I’ll
see more of both of them this year since Andrew will be working with Mom and
Owen on the computer systems at the lab; but they’re adults now and have their
own busy lives, so it just isn’t the same as back when they first started
babysitting me about four years ago.
It’s hard to believe that they’re already finished their third year at
college; and will be done school in just two more years. I might not get to spend much time with them
this summer, but Ethan and Ehlana will be happy to hang out with Isabelle at
KidZone when they’re there; and with Andrew when they’re with Mom at the lab.
Violet and Dillon were as busy as the rest
of the collegians, and sat with his family during the service; so I didn’t
spend much time with them until they came over to our house this
afternoon. Since I sat with Michael and
his family anyway that worked out; and I didn’t have to choose between hanging
out with them or with Jake and Stephanie until we went to Sunday school. I didn’t get to spend much time with Michael
after the service because he needed to get to the Inn; so that’s when I made
the rounds and shared some hugs, kisses, and a few words with as many of the
college teens as I could get to before going home with Mom, Dad, and the
twins. Violet was at Dillon’s for lunch,
so it was just the five of us at our place.
I helped Mom with the cooking and clean-up so that Dad could do his
work; and then I took Ethan and Ehlana to the park for some play time. Rowen and Tim met up with us there, and we
went for an ice cream break at the Emporium in time to meet up with Michael for
his break. The guys took Ethan with them
for some football action after that; and we wrapped up our park time with
another blast of fun at the playground before heading back to my house for the
last half of Michael’s break.
Though Dad needed to do a lot of work, he
and Mom were hosting a family barbeque dinner for Violet and Dillon; and the
two teens were there by the time we got back from the park. We were able to hang around in the back yard
with them and play with Ethan and Ehlana pretty much until Michael headed back
to the Inn, and then, after Rowen and Tim moved on too; I was put to work for a
while setting up tables and chairs outside for dinner while Mom, Grandma, and
my aunts worked in the kitchen. Ethan,
Ehlana, and I weren’t totally on the edges during dinner; but we weren’t right
in the middle of the action either as Violet and Dillon were the center of
attention; and kept busy chatting with her adult cousins. She spent extra time with Zack and Leah too;
had some more play time with Ethan and Ehlana after dinner while I was on the
clean-up crew; and then we finally got to spend some time together after the
rest of our family went home for the night.
Dad went back to work then, so the rest of us hung out in the living
room until it was time for Ethan and Ehlana to go to bed.
Violet and Dillon took care of the bedtime
story and getting my brother and sister tucked in for the night, so after
helping Mom with another minor clean-up; I headed up to my room for some
Jacuzzi time before getting ready for bed.
I took my time doing that because I knew that Mom and Dad were finally
getting some time to visit with Violet and Dillon without kids or a crowd
around; and they did that until Dad was finished his work and Dillon headed
home for the night. I was in bed and
already working on my language studies by then, and after saying goodnight to
Mom and Dad; Violet stopped in for a little girl chat time.
That isn’t the same as it used to be for
either of us – and not just because of things like joking about arranging
boyfriend sleepovers for both of us.
It’s funny how that happens anyway despite the fact that I have the
equivalent of a handful of Masters degrees that have me well-ahead of Violet on
the education ladder. She’s getting
comfortable with her independence now, and while she’s glad to be here with us
for the summer; it may be occasionally uncomfortable when she wants to be able
to do her own thing without having to worry about kids, teens, or
guardian-cousins getting in the way.
I am going to like having those chats again
– even if we may not do that as regularly as we have in the past. Violet stayed for about a half hour and then
let me get back to work; and I put in another couple of hours on the family business
before moving on to this update. Dad’s
going to be getting ready to hit the road in just a few hours, so I should have
wrapped up sooner; but I need to work while I can ahead of the long
weekend. It’s getting easier every day
to relate to Mom’s issues with always having more work to do; and that’s
happening with my end of the family business more and more as there seems to be
ever-expanding opportunities that just grow bigger the more I work at it.
We don’t need to get into that tonight, and
I really do need to get what nap time I can before getting up with Mom and the
twins to see Dad off to the city; so, until next time…
…Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the
Light!
