Happy 45th Birthday, Mrs.
Norton!
Ehlana and Ethan:
As you might expect from our last update;
the coronavirus plans that have been worked out for our little town are the top
news stories for today; so celebrating birthdays wasn’t a priority – even for
the Norton clan and their friends.
Cassie, Michael, and May got that going for us this morning at breakfast
with their news from the college and city that included reports from their
friends and neighbors. Our church
service was more like a town meeting with prayers and music, but it wasn’t
tense or scary, and while there is some worry that we could sense; everyone
also seems ready to handle whatever happens over the next few weeks and months.
Mom and Dad were busy all day, but then so
were Cassie and Michael; since they helped out at the Inn as his parents,
brother, and sister-in-law were busy trying to get ready for the changes coming
starting tomorrow – and got help for that from all of their customers –
including us; since we went there for what might be a last dinner out for a
while. Most business owners in town were
busy today – some of them getting ready to close for a while; and others
getting ready to switch to online sales and pick-up or delivery
operations. Mom set us free for the
afternoon, but it has been cool and rainy here; so we stayed home and had a
quiet few hours of music and movies with May – though she did some studying
too. Naomi and Aiden were each busy with
their own families today, but we were together for dinner at the Inn; and we’ll
be working together every day as we start in on our online lessons tomorrow.
That meal at the Inn was different for us
because Miranda and Stephanie had their customers spaced out with an empty
table between every group of customers in all three dining rooms, and while the
usual buffet options were available; food was delivered to tables already
plated. Ordering food took longer, but
Emerson’s Computers had helped with that too; so the servers had a brand new
app for taking orders; getting them filled in the kitchen; and then delivering
them to the correct table and customer.
That app will actually be available to anyone to put on their smart
phones soon too, but we’ll hope that doesn’t do too-well; since it just wouldn’t
be the same at the Inn if we didn’t talk to each other anymore.
We could see that being very handy for
pre-ordering pizzeria pizza for snack breaks for kids and teens while out playing
with our friends! ;^)
Moving along, we were among the last
customers of the day at the Inn, so Cassie and Michael had that meal with our
group too and then came home with us, and while they have the week off from
school; they still worked in the office with Mom, Dad, and May while we’ve been
busy with getting ready for our new home study plans before hitting the tub or
Jacuzzi and then getting ready for bed.
That wasn’t very exciting, but our new home-school days are going to be
easy; since we’ll only need a couple of hours to do everything when we don’t
have our classmates around to slow us down.
We’ll likely add in extra time at the lab and archives too, but we’re
going to work that out over the next few days once we know a bit more about how
everything else we’re doing around town works out.
Speaking of that – the local plans are
going to help our family business; since some of our favorite Magi will have
more time to work at those jobs now.
That’s especially good-timing for Aunt Leanne, Miranda, and others as
some of our biggest global challenges are with businesses that are affected by
all of the shut-downs and quarantines.
Most of those issues are also opportunities for us, so while there is a
lot of work going on; we’re doing a lot of good too. We’re not directly involved in those projects,
but Cassie, Michael, and May could be helping out more this week. Cassie and May can do translating and
interpreting for our charities; and Michael can take his part-time job to
full-time until they go back to online classes next week. That won’t give them a break, but then they
won’t be traveling anyway; and it’s a safe bet that Rowen and Tim will be
drafted to work at the store or shop all week too; so non-stop parties at home
won’t be an option either!
That’s all for tonight, but stay
tuned. We’re really just getting started
on dealing with this pandemic here at home, and while the odds are
nearly-certain that we’ll have some cases here eventually; it is going to be
the social and economic problems that are going to affect us the most. As always, we’ll be there for each other; and
that will be what matters the most for getting through this emergency.
This is Ehlana and Ethan Proctor; live from
the hidden home of the Magi of the Light – and May the Magi Force be with you!
