Ethan and Ehlana:
Hailey’s birthday party and then the sleepover for her girlfriends was a hit last night; and we were happy to do our part with the work that made that possible for Ehlana’s future sister-in-law! While the weather didn’t really cooperate, the indoor entertainment included video gaming for the guys; music videos and movies and more for the girls; and the work crew volunteers provided bonus entertainment while being supervised for the cooking, cleaning, and other party-related chores. We also provided a bit of ‘live’ music that some early cross-over couples danced to, but we couldn’t exactly let the party get too-loud once Aiden’s father needed to go to bed ahead of his normally-early wake-up call for bakery baking. The boys at the party headed for their homes by eleven o’clock; the girls took over the family room for their sleepover; and Ehlana, Aiden, Naomi, and I settled into the living room for our co-ed sofa sleepover – once we’d made sure that Hailey and her friends had everything they needed for the rest of the night. By then, we were tired out; so we were all sleeping before the girls in the family room were – and we know that for sure because Hailey and Leah took pictures to prove it to us at breakfast.
Since they had stayed up late, the girls were also late getting up; so we needed to take care of making breakfast for them after our Tai Chi workout and after Aiden’s Mom left for the bakery. That was another adventure and a fair bit of work by the time we had the kitchen and house cleaned up again; and then Ehlana and I headed home for our own chores around the house and yard. We’ve had another wet, cool day, so the outdoor chores were not fun; we had a snack lunch with Mom and Dad; and then we’ve spent the afternoon until now at the lab or archives. We’ve had fun with the work-play with our books or beakers; and now we’re getting ready to host a co-ed sleepover with Naomi and Aiden. We invited Sophia and Aaron too, but they had other family plans and weren’t given the option to choose by the parents with veto powers.
We are planning on having fun with Naomi and Aiden for the rest of the day; so another early update will have to work for your future reading entertainment too. As always, we’re tempted to ignore the world and political news, but shouldn’t do that for three days in a row; so here’s a quick update – all is not well with the world! Okay, to be a bit more specific, President Trump’s worldwide tariffs are going over badly; retaliations have begun; and the global stock markets are taking a hit. All of that was to be expected; and it will take time to sort out – whether that means working out trade deals through diplomacy or escalation into a full-blown trade war. Either is possible at this early stage; and the latter is the more-likely outcome if the rhetoric is to be believed. The actual, physical wars continue to drag on as casualties and destruction levels mount every day. The threats continue to ramp up too, and our world leaders appear incapable of understanding what true diplomacy is and have forgotten how to de-escalate conflicts. At the rate they’re going, the only way these wars will end will be when one side or the other is utterly defeated – and that really should scare everyone when nuclear weapons are options for quite a few of the participants in the two-largest conflicts. That is likely because there are so-few people still alive that were around for the first usages of nuclear bombs in war; and reading history isn’t the same as witnessing the horrors.
Let’s all pray and hope that we don’t repeat past mistakes – even as we seem to be on that same path.
Ehlana and I want to move on and enjoy the rest of the day with Mom, Dad, and our best friends; so that’s all for this update.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
