Welcome home, Violet and Dillon!
It’s late, and I’ve had a really, really
long day, but have a lot to cover today; so let’s get to it – from the
beginning.
Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, and I were up early to
see Dad off to the city this morning.
For me, that was a fairly short visit because I really wanted to get as
much sleep as I could too. Napping with
Ehlana for my cuddle buddy while Mom had Ethan to cuddle with while we were all
in her bed after Dad left was fun too; though not long-enough before it was
time to get up and going for the day.
Tai Chi without Dad wasn’t as much fun – and that was also because we
needed to be indoors for that workout thanks to a rainy weather day. Michael came over for that, but had breakfast
at home ahead of his weight training at school.
The rain made the walk to school a bit damp
for us, but we had a pretty good day in our classes, with the only news being
the senior class trip – with news trickling in to younger siblings and friends
from the Grade Twelve students while they were in-transit to Georgia. It really did seem quieter at school without
a quarter of our high school students here, but I’m sure that was just
perception; since it was probably louder while we were all stuck indoors all
day. Other than that, there isn’t
anything exciting to report from my school day; and the fun kicked up a handful
of notches once we were set free.
Violet and Dillon were back home by the
time Michael and I got there, but we stopped in at Michael’s house on the way
there; so let’s cover the news from his home first. His parents – and the Wingboroughs – have been
setting up a little surprise for when Jake and Stephanie get home; and they
started getting that set up today – a make-over of one of the third-floor
bedrooms so that Jake and Stephanie can have a bit of privacy while living
there this summer. It seems that they
collectively decided that was a better option instead of having Jake and
Stephanie rent an apartment for three months when they still have a year of
college to pay for too; but the new room will be a surprise for Jake and
Stephanie.
Maybe we should have thought about doing
that for Violet and Dillon at our house, but I don’t think that is such a great
idea if it would also mean having me give up my room and move to the second
floor for the next couple of summers until they’re finished school too.
I am glad that they’re home, though, and
Michael and I had fun with them – and with everyone else – right from the
moment we got to my house. Mom had set
up a family dinner, and that included Dillon’s family; so Isabelle and Andrew
had come over early to help her out with the work – and to spend the extra time
with Violet and Dillon once they were back in town too. They’d left Woodvale this morning, but did
manage to set up a lunch with Dad in Crystal Springs; and then they did a bit
of shopping and picked up a fast food fix for Aunt Leanne on their way out of
the city before coming here. By the time
we got home, the main conversation topic was Isabelle and Andrew’s
wedding. I’ve been completely out of the
loop for that, but Violet and Dillon are in their wedding party, and since the
wedding is two weeks from Saturday; they have a lot to get done between now and
then.
It’s funny how such important events in the
lives of people that are close to me can happen while I’m busy with my own
life, but other than going to the ceremony; Michael and I will have almost no
involvement with Isabelle and Andrew’s special day. We won’t even be going to the reception
because we’ll be helping out at the Inn instead while other teens need the time
off instead. That isn’t the case for
Violet and Dillon, and they’ll be juggling wedding-related activities around
their work and the holiday weekend family fun too. While I’m thinking about Isabelle and Andrew,
I’ll also mention that they’ve graduated with their Master’s degrees now. Isabelle will start teaching at the school in
September; and Andrew is going to run the tech center at the med center.
By the way, I always seem to refer to that
building as the med center, but it’s actually called the Witch Falls
Professional Offices and Medical Center; and Andrew’s tech center will take
care of the computer systems and equipment needs for all of the current and
future occupants – as well as helping out with the lab systems too; though Mom
will still take care of the software and security systems for the lab – and where
needed for the med center too. Mom – and
Owen Emerson – are going to be glad to have the full-time help there now, and
while that will mean a bit less business for Emerson Computers; they will still
get all of the business for the hardware and supplies purchases for the med
center and lab – and we can always send more business their way through the
family business.
Dillon’s parents came over after his Dad
was finished work; Grandma and Grandpa were here by then; and Uncle Adam, Aunt
Leanne, Zack, and Brianna were last – getting here shortly after the med center
closed for the day. Dinner was an
adventure, though I spent as much time taking care of Zack and Brianna as I did
with Violet and Dillon. The food was
great, and we had fun; but that hour or so we got to spend together was also
too short before it was time to move on.
For Michael and I, that meant helping with the clean-up; and then we
needed to get started on our homework and a music practice to get ready for our
classes – and our bands and praise team practices on Tuesday. We also had Ethan, Ehlana, Zack, and Brianna
with us for most of that time in the lounge and my room while the parents and
grandparents had a nice visit with Violet, Dillon, Isabelle, and Andrew.
While I missed out on that, I did get to
hear all about Rebekkah Burroughs' third birthday party from Zack’s
perspective.
Happy 3rd Birthday, Rebekkah!
Zack, Leah, and Caleb were among the kids
invited to Rebekkah’s party, and thanks to the rainy day; they had that party
in the fellowship hall at the church so that the kids could still run around
and play the games that had been planned.
I’m sure that Zack had fun despite his claims otherwise, but his
perspective on the party through the lens of the public image he’s trying to
create for himself was entertaining; and it’s going to be fun watching him grow
up with a persona that’s more than a bit on the Neanderthal side of human. He’s already a junior version on Chris and
Martin from back when I first met them; so maybe it isn’t totally an act and he
inherited some throw-back family gene. ;^)
Taking another little side-trip while I’m
thinking about them; Dawn sent me an email tonight to let me know that Chris is
buying a car that he’s going to need for his summer job this year. He won’t be picking it up for another day or
two, but Dawn sent pictures; and it’s a decent-looking 2012 Honda that’s sure
to get decent gas mileage for him – which he’ll need because he’s going to be
working for Uncle Blaine this summer. I’m
sure that he’ll enjoy having a car to take back with him to school in August a
bonus too; and that works out for Martin too because he won’t need to share
their car this summer – or not have one whenever Chris needed a car.
I’ll need to deal with that sort of thing
in a couple of years when it’s my turn to head for college, but I already know
what I want to do for that; and will be ready to deal with that – and everything
else that will go along with going away to college. Tonight isn’t the time for writing about that
– especially when it’s so late; so let’s get back to the rest of the update.
Michael and I had fun with the kids while
doing our studying and having our practice; though I wish we could have spent
that time with Violet and Dillon too.
Zack and Brianna were taken home at nine when all of our guests headed
out; but Michael and I still had more music to practice before we were ready to
have another short visit with Violet and Dillon – and a bedtime chat and snack
with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana. That was
fun too, but then Michael needed to head home so that I could get busy with all
of the bedtime computing work and studying I needed to get done tonight.
I started working on that three and a half
hours ago, with just one short freak for a bedtime chat with Violet while she
was waiting for Dillon to take his turn in the washroom while they were getting
ready for bed. That isn’t the same as it
was when we were younger and Violet first started to come home for longer
visits to train with Mom, but we did still have fun; and I’m glad that we can
do that again – even if we won’t get the chance to do that every night if last
summer is any indication. It’s a bit
weird having Violet and Dillon next door again after they’ve now been living
together for the past school year, but I prefer that to having them switch back
and forth between houses; and it would just be silly to expect them to be
separated for the next three months and just do a lot of sleepovers instead.
The precedence for Michael and me will be
helpful in a few years too! ;^)
Now that’s actually a fun thought to head
off to dreamland with; so let’s wrap this up.
I don’t have anything important to write about from my work and studies;
though I did get a lot of work finished tonight. I can report that Violet and Dillon will
likely both start their summer jobs on Wednesday; though they’ll confirm that
when they stop in at the lab tomorrow.
Violet will continue to work for Mom and the family business too just as
she does during the school year, but her work at the lab will continue to be important
as she works with Aunt Grace – and helps her out while she’s going through the
last trimester of her pregnancy. I’m
sure that Violet will help a lot with getting everything ready for the time off
that Aunt Grace will need after the baby’s born. Ehlana’s happy to have Dillon home to help
out in the lab; and she’ll likely spend more time in there working with him.
Okay, I’m about ready to drop. It’s fun, but I have some sleepover dreams to
get to that will have Michael involved in a starring role, and that’s going to
be more fun than typing on my computer; so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
