Ethan and Ehlana:
Our condolences to Michael, Cassie, and the entire Stone family as they mourn the passing of Grandma Francis Stone today.
That’s a somber start to our first day of the school year; so it is also strange to offer best birthday wishes for Miles Sheldon. His special day along with our start to the school year continued to be the focus of our day even after we found out about Grandma Francis; so let’s cover that news first.
Mr. Palmer is our teacher this year, so we’re happy about that; and it is also a bit weird to have a member of the Magi council teaching us – and our Magi friends that don’t know that he is a Magi too. Naomi is happy to have Mrs. Alicia Warren for her Grade six teacher too – especially since Alicia is also a recently-new Mom; and she could have taken more time off before coming back to school. Ehlana and Naomi wouldn’t let me get away with avoiding my reaction to Naomi’s first day of school outfit and make-over; so I’ll admit to being impressed; and getting razed by the guys for the hug and kiss that Naomi shared with me was a combination that seems to have become an annual part of our back-to-school adventures.
Miles’ birthday was a part of our school day story too, and he had fun with the extra attention; since we really don’t have many kids or teens that get to have a birthday on the first day of school. We had a little gift for him before we started our classes; had special treats for him and our friends at lunch; and then his guys-only birthday party began after school. Before we get to that news; let’s also add that our actual work at school was limited; we spent some time learning about what our first weeks of this school year will include for this round of study modules; we spent nearly half of the day outdoors; and didn’t have much homework. The weather was awesome today too; so we really enjoyed our start to Grade Five.
Aiden and I were off to Miles’ home after school, so while we were at the party; Ehlana and Naomi spent those hours until dinnertime biking and swimming with quite a few of the other girls we usually hang out with. Mom hosted their snack time too; and our house was swim-central. The girls wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Miles’ party and dinner included a lot of ‘fun’ that they would have been glad to miss – including the usual ‘guy’ competitions for food, drinks, and video gaming. We still had fun; Aiden and I only got razzed a bit about being too-good and helpful, but that’s normal too; and we’re okay with having that reputation. Miles’ party wrapped up at nine o’clock; I came home; and we wrapped up our day with a bedtime video chat with Cassie and Michael.
That brings us to the top news of the day again. We don’t want to include much of the full story about Grandma Francis’ death or the family issues that are happening because the hometown side of the family didn’t know that her health had been declining rapidly through the summer. She passed peacefully – not waking from a nap, and that happened while her grandkids were at school; so they missed the trauma that went along with discovering that she’d passed.
Michael and Cassie wish that they had known she was having problems, but we can’t know whether they could have – or should have – helped her if they had known. It is nearly as tough on them to know that they won’t be able to attend her funeral because it is already booked for Saturday; Michael has an away game to play that he can’t skip; and Cassie has her T.A. responsibilities for the team and her own doctoral research to do this weekend too. We’ll have more on that later this week; so we’ll only add that there is likely to be even more drama for this funeral than there was for Grandpa Lloyd’s passing. That’s sad too, but part of life even for Magi; and we’ll deal with those problems and be there for Michael and his family.
That’s enough for tonight. We just finished bath or Jacuzzi time; our bedtime twin chat has dragged on a bit longer than usual; and we’ve mixed in bedtime video chats with Naomi and Aiden – mostly to discuss the earlier video chat news from Cassie and Michael. It is late, so we should get to sleep now – especially since we know that the rest of this week is going to get very busy. We’re also sensing more than just sadness ahead of us in the very-near future too, so while we crash and nap now; stay tuned or flip the digital page in our future to find out what happens next for us; and, 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!
