Ethan and Ehlana:
Cassie and Michael are home!
That’s our top news of the day, but before we get to that part of the story; let’s cover the rest of the news from our respective Saturday evenings. Ehlana and Aiden had fun with Mom and Dad last night – from dinnertime through to their co-ed sleepover for just two in the lounge. In addition to the food fun, they had some music play time and watched Christmas movies – one of them with Mom and Dad before they headed for their bed for the night. Naomi and I had fun too, but we also had Zack and Eli around and Zack stayed overnight too; so we didn’t get to have very much co-ed cuddle time while the Seager family room was busier and louder with video gaming and random acts of annoyance that were mostly bugging Naomi. That is still better than in past years; so we probably shouldn’t complain and risk worse the next time we’re all hanging out together.
Naomi and I did our own thing for Tai Chi this morning while missing out on the exercise time by the river; we cooked and cleaned on either side of breakfast with the Seagers while the parents and teens split the work here at home; and we all met up for the walk to church. The service and Sunday school were good; and we mostly did the last prep work for the holiday weekend service that the teens and teen praise team will be leading next Sunday. Ehlana and I went home with our parents; had a snack lunch; and then headed to the lab or archives to work until Cassie and Michael got home by mid-afternoon. Since then, we’ve been hanging out with them – though we’ve had to share them with Michael’s family and their friends too. Rowen and Tim spent some time with us at Cassie and Michael’s house; we had a major gang at the Inn for the late buffet that doubled as a welcome home party; and then we returned to Cassie and Michael’s house for a visit that included their nieces and nephews and other visitors.
Cassie and Michael kept their travel stories light and entertaining – mostly for the kids’ benefit; there were some tales that Grandpa would be proud of for the kids too; and we eventually left them to settle in and do some work while we headed for our homes. Since they’re just starting to deal with the time change anyway, Cassie and Michael had set up some work video conferences tonight, and while that might seem strange to some people; it works for them and they planned to work a lot over the next few days before taking the holiday weekend break.
We didn’t do more work tonight after getting home. Bath or Jacuzzi time was first on our to-do list; and now Ehlana and I are doing the usual twin chat and computer checks wrap-up to our day. We’re mostly looking forward to the short school week and then the holiday weekend, but this one is going to be very different for us too with the championship football game on Friday. That’s also why we’re going to keep the world news update short. The top story from the weekend continues to be Ukraine and the latest round of peace talks that are pointless because Ukraine and western leaders are still ignoring Russia’s demands to resolve the core problems while making up plans that will never be accepted by Russia. The talks that were going on today among the western leaders in Geneva were hyped by the media and pundits, while the Russian army just grinds on; destroying Ukraine a little more every day and methodically wiping out the Ukrainian armed forces. We won’t predict when the collapse will come, but it is inevitable that it will happen whenever Ukraine reaches the breaking point. Yes, there is an alternative, but nobody should want an expansion of this war – and there would be if western countries send troops and overtly join this war.
The same problems continue in the rest of the world too; the Palestinian plight continues with no serious change; tensions remain high in Venezuela; and there are new tensions between China and Japan. That’s a story we haven’t mentioned here yet, and it happened because the new Japanese Prime Minister declared that Japan would help Taiwan militarily if China attacked Taiwan. That assertion did not go over well in China where memories remain of what Japan did to China during World War Two. That was a bad political move by Japan’s first female Prime Minister, and if she was simply trying to prove she could be as tough as any man; we’ll simply suggest that she should try to prove that she’s smarter – not tougher.
That’s enough for tonight. We need to get the sleep while we can; so we’re out of here and off to dreamland now.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
