Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 24th Birthday, Roger Jennings!
We delivered a gift to Roger this morning while at church that Cassie and Michael – and Rowen and Tim – left for him while away, but that was our only involvement in his special day and we’ll hope that his family and friends took care of helping him out with having an awesome day.
That’s certainly what we did yesterday for Samantha, and her party was awesome! Our afternoon adventures included setting up our tents; swimming in one of the irrigation ponds near her house; a football scrimmage that was only partially co-ed; since most of the girls weren’t interested in getting hot and dirty to that extent – though there were other, cleaner games to play too or shady trees to sit under for the friends that preferred to stay pristine in chosen sundresses or other outfits chosen to impress. Naomi, Sophia, and I were among the girls that did want to play hard, though, and we definitely had more fun – especially with the football game and two volleyball matches that included one co-ed contest and one battle of the sexes game that the girls won with no regrets for the unfair tactics we used to mess with the boys’ ability to focus on the game instead of on us! ;^)
Moving along, there were lots of adults with us for the barbeque dinner and we were among the teens that helped out with the work before and after the meal. Samantha had gifts to open and the usual birthday fun and treats, and I’ll also add that Naomi and Ethan were at her table because Samantha is Naomi’s best same-grade friend; while Aiden and I were at the table directly behind my twin and his date. The adults stayed into the evening for an impromptu baseball game with the teams a mix of parents, teens, and kids; and then we all settled around a large campfire at dusk. We’d been asked to help with the music ahead of time, but we went mostly unplugged with the only exception being Aiden’s portable drum pad that he hooked up to the wireless speakers that were also used for canned music that played when our little band didn’t. Ethan and Naomi had their guitars and Sophia and Aaron played their violins, and between two sets; we provided the dance and campfire entertainment for about an hour and a half of the three hours and change we got to hang out around the fire until it was put out shortly-after midnight. There were also scary stories; snacks; drinks; co-ed cuddling; and a lot of teen-chat fun. There was a bit of teen drama too, but nothing serious on a personal level or between couples. The teen guys heading into grades nine through twelve talked football a lot with team tryouts coming up soon, and while the incoming ‘niners’ got razzed about their chances of actually making the team this season; we’ll only add that Aaron was one of those guys and he is confident-enough to know that he already has the talent and skills to beat the freshman year odds. Some of the girl chat fun included talking about the tryouts for the cheer squad, and while we like all of Naomi’s classmates; a few of them are a bit delusional and will likely be disappointed when Naomi shows up for that competition. Samantha will try to make the squad too; and we won’t be surprised if Naomi and Samantha end up being the newest additions to the cheer team – especially since Naomi is planning on being on the squad to cheer for Ethan starting next year.
Moving along, after the campfire, the quiet teen time included a late swim for some of us; lots of co-ed cuddle time; and a fair bit of teen chat as we enjoyed staying up too late and then eventually retiring to our tents for some nap time. We are officially not going to confirm or deny whether there were any co-ed tents; and we may or may-not be sticking to that story to protect some of our friends and fellow campers! A small group of us were up early for Tai Chi; we were among the first to get ready for the day and pack up our gear; and we also helped out with the major breakfast that was needed to feed all of Samantha’s guests and her family. Volunteers were required to get everyone to church – along with all of our gear; and then the party was basically over by the time the service started and we were reunited with our own families. We were ready for the comparative-break; another hot-weather day led to a shorter service and no Sunday school thanks to those choices by Pastor John; and that left us with lots of time before lunch to get our gear home and put away. Mom and Dad only had two teens with them for an easy-lunch; and then we ended up having a lazy play afternoon that included enjoying an extended blast of doing nothing with family and friends along with some swim time in the river when we felt the urge to cool off for a while. Another easy meal followed with just the four of us again after everyone else moved on to their homes or elsewhere for the rest of the day; and we’ve had a quiet work night in the office that included doing some work on family business and charity projects. Mom did a Magi lesson with us too; some time phasing helped all of us to get more done and still wrap up by nine-thirty; and then bath or Jacuzzi time followed the work.
Ethan and I are now dealing with a more-extensive round of bedtime computing to go along with the twin chat fun, and while we would really prefer to just enjoy the memories of another awesome weekend; we also can’t totally avoid world news that continues to be awful related to the usual stories we write about related to wars and politics.
Cassie and Michael aren’t directly involved in any of those stories, but they have moved from Italy to France; so they are at least near to the summer Olympic Games happening there – though they are not going to attend any events or support the Olympics in any way while there. We’re not doing that here at home either, and while we wish that we could appreciate the pinnacle of international sports; we can’t and won’t do that anymore. We’ve always had a problem with the enormous waste of money; it is the political and social dramas that are part of the events that we don’t want any part of supporting. Not watching any of the events doesn’t keep us from reading about some of those stories, though, and just to offer a couple of examples; this round of the Olympics is being used to ‘chastise’ Russia and other countries that are fighting against the western powers and the United States while a social story that makes us sick this weekend relate to allowing trans-gender boxers to compete – and beat up on ‘real’ female fighters. Nothing says fair play in sports better than sanctioning the abuse of women at the hands of men that get away with it by declaring that they feel like they are a girl so that makes it true! Here’s a suggestion to all women dealing with trans-gender competitors – boycott the events until the organizers stop allowing those athletes to compete – and that likely won’t take long; since the leaders of those organizations are greedy and will not want to lose the money. As for the spectators around the world – do the same and stop watching or attending the events.
Instead of getting riled up about that story; let’s move on to other world events.
The war in Ukraine continues to be horrific for everyone in the region. The death toll is insane – as is the numbers of injured and the family members and friends that have had their lives destroyed by the fighting. The physical damage to Ukraine will take decades to overcome even if the war ended today; and there is no excuse for any of the leaders on either side for allowing this inhumane carnage to continue. As for the Middle East, it seems that the Israeli and western leaders are determined to escalate the conflicts in the region through attacks and assassinations in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and elsewhere – basically goading their opponents to attack Israel and their allies. Ethan and I obviously have a different assessment of the situation in the region, and if the leaders on ‘our’ side actually believe that they can win a wider war – or even a world war; then they are delusional fools. We could definitely lose a major conventional war, and if we escalate to using nukes; everyone loses. Let’s hope that we don’t end up going there; since even if every Magi of the Light pitched in; we wouldn’t have a chance of saving the planet from thousands of nuclear bombs.
Well, that is a seriously-depressing turn of our thoughts and writings, so let’s stop now and try to think of happier things before we go to sleep. As we’ve mentioned, Cassie, Michael, and their best friends are in France now and will be sightseeing for a few days before moving on to Great Britain through until Rowen and Tim head home on the weekend. Cassie and Michael will be working in Europe after that, but we can write about that as it happens. For now, we’re just happy that they are getting to have these adventures with Rowen and Tim. We’re also taking notes for our own future travel information, and we really want that future; so let’s all hope that will happen for us – though if you’re reading this in our distant future; I guess that you’ll know and not need to hope at all! ;^)
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
