Ethan and Ehlana:
The departures for our visiting cousins are at the top of the family news stories for today, but other than spending some time with them before and during church; we didn’t end up having much to do with that part of their day. We had a quiet start to our day with Tai Chi by the river for four; the breakfast highlight was the video chat with Cassie, Michael, Rowen, and Tim; and the church service and Sunday school were shorter than usual for no specified reason. We said goodbye to our cousins immediately after church and they headed out of town for the half-way meeting points with the various parents. Mom and Aunt Leanne took our Proctor cousins with them; and all three of them had a tougher time saying goodbye to Micah, Jeremy, and Jennifer than they had with any of the hometown members of their family. Uncle Nick and Grandma Carrington took care of the driving duties for the Johnson clan cousins; and that was mostly because the doctors and nurse in the family were either tired out after a long night or still busy helping Isabelle and Jacob.
The newest member of our town is home with his parents now, and doing well, but Mom and Baby are tired out too after having a fussy, restless night at the clinic.
Moving along, Dad stayed home with us because he’ll be in the city next week and had a lot of work to get done today. We came home after church; had an easy-lunch; and then Ehlana and I met up with Naomi and Aiden; biked, swam, and played all afternoon; and got home in time to help Mom with making dinner – though that was an easy-meal too. Naomi and Aiden were with their own families for that meal and since then; so we’ve had a quiet night here while Mom and Dad both worked in the office. We helped Mom with some chores around the house including laundry and cleaning guest rooms; followed that up with a music practice and baht or Jacuzzi time; and now we’re pretty much ready to crash and get some sleep.
Before we do that, we should mention that Cassie is very busy helping her friends to get ready for final exams the last week of July; preparing to present her Master’s thesis; and all of her T.A. duties. Michael and Tim are continuing their football training and are now sure to be their college team’s wide receivers; and Rowen is splitting her time between work for the data center that she can do anywhere; spending time with her friends on campus; and taking care of most of the work around the townhouses. They’re not even really going to get a break between the end of the summer session and start of the fall term because of football camps and the start of the football season; so we may need to take a trip to see them if they can’t come to us!
Finally, we want to include a pandemic update. While there continues to be some good news around the world; it is also beginning to look as though the vaccines may have limited efficacy or don’t offer long-term protection from Covid-19 or new variants of the virus. If that proves true, then vaccinated people won’t be as protected as they expect; they could still be passing the virus on to others; and that could prove to be a bigger problem than most people expect or understand. I won’t get into a scientific commentary on that, but Ehlana’s simple explanation is that the combination of mass vaccination with a virus that can still be transmitted easily can lead to new variants of the virus that aren’t stopped by the vaccine at all – and can also be worse than the original virus; since only the strongest variants survive the process.
It will likely be fall or winter before we have enough data to know whether those potential problems have become reality, but we’re keeping an eye on the news; and Ehlana will be working on making sure that our Magi-powered ‘vaccine’ will continue to protect everyone we’ve been able to help so far here at home.
That’s enough for tonight, and we really should get some sleep since we’ll be up early to see Dad off on his trip to the city; so, until next time...
...this is Ethan and Ehlana Proctor; live from the hidden home of the Magi of the Light – and May the Magi Force be with you!
