Ethan and Ehlana:
The twentieth anniversary of 9/11 was likely the top news story of the day in a lot of other places around the world, but while we were aware of it; that milestone didn’t really affect us while we were busy with saying a final goodbye to Grandma Francis. Since we’re covering that news for most of the past three days; let’s begin with the happier stories.
First up, we loved hearing the stories about Grandma Francis – especially those stories related to her life here at home with Grandpa Lloyd and their kids. There were happy stories from the years they spent in Garden City to be near Aunt Anne and her family, and Michael’s grandparents may have truly been happier there than here in our little town, but we still liked the ‘home’ stories better; and Grandma Francis will be remembered with love by her hometown friends and neighbors.
We don’t really want to get into the not-so-fun parts of the past few days, but can’t really offer a complete report without going there. To be blunt, Aunt Anne didn’t even pretend to play nice over the past few days with Jacob and Miranda. She’s carrying a lot of pent-up anger and resentment, and while that drama was usually kept semi-private; there were enough public barbs and spiteful comments for a lot of people to notice the tension. That wasn’t a surprise for us, but it is sad; and tough on both sides of the Stone family. The drama details aren’t something we need to gossip about here or anywhere else in detail; so we’ll just wrap this section up by predicting that we won’t be seeing the Bishop side of Michael’s family again anytime soon – at least here at home.
Moving along, while we were busy for most of the morning with the funeral and ceremony at the cemetery; that part of our day wrapped up with a luncheon at the Inn; we helped out with Michael’s youngest cousins while their parents and grandparents packed and got ready to hit the road for Garden City; and then we were with Stephanie and Rebecca for the final goodbyes that were very awkward and a little bit unpleasant. Playing nice through most of the drama moments over the past few days hasn’t been easy, but we’ll admit that the goodbyes were toughest – especially when it came to how their aunt and uncle treated Stephanie and Rebecca when they’re both pregnant and don’t need the added stress. Sierra is too-young to comprehend the lack of love directed her way; and we won’t comment on why anyone would choose to reject a relationship with any child-relative – especially because of issues that have nothing to do with those children.
Moving along – again, we had some chores to do after the Bishops left town; worked on them until near-dinnertime; and then we had a quiet dinner-for-four before Mom and Dad set us free to hang out with Naomi and Aiden for a few hours. We did that at Naomi’s house – as well as on the trails and in the river for a cool-down swim; we watched a movie; and aren’t doing a sleepover because that would have felt weird after the rest of the events of our day. We should mention that Michael and Tim again led their team to victory this afternoon; Cassie and Rowen were both there to watch the game; and we probably don’t need any of the celebration details from them for the rest of the night.
While they are partying as we’re writing this, we’ve had a few late nights; are ready to catch up on our sleep; and can do that now – 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!
