Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 5th Birthday, Jonathan Bassett!
We didn’t have anything to do with Jonathan’s special day, but Sophia and Aaron went to his party; and were drafted to help with the work and keeping the kids entertained. While they were doing that, they missed out on after-school biking with our friends that we chose to do thanks to a high that topped out in the mid-fifties this afternoon! That’s been quite the change from double digits in the negative, so we had fun with that – and were a little less-jealous of Cassie and Michael as they’re wrapping up their visit to Laos and getting ready to fly to Thailand soon. It is Friday there and they have a bit more work to do first, but then they will be moving on – and taking the weekend off for Cassie’s birthday adventures that will happen in and around Bangkok.
As for our day, Tai Chi was indoors; our academic adventures were a bit more-fun thanks to the nice weather and some bonus outdoor time; and then the biking was followed by studying, dinner, and a group Magi lesson that we did with Mom, Dad, Naomi, and Aiden before we all headed to the Inn for game night. Thanks to that Bassett clan party, the turnout was a bit low; and that had nothing to do with why Ethan and Naomi won the junior title tonight! Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne won the senior title; so both are in our family for the week! We all had fun; Ethan and I took Silkie for a walk while seeing Naomi and Aiden to their homes; and Silkie got more bedtime hugs and kisses than the rest of us did combined. Mom didn’t want Ethan and I to do any work after getting home again – and we are going to ignore why she had those same orders for Dad! Bath or Jacuzzi time was allowed, so we moved on to do that; and now we’re winding down fast toward nap time.
As for the world news, politicians and media seem more-interested in the latest round of Epstein-related scandals that are coming up on a decade old, but we think that the worst news of the day is that our leaders allowed the New-START or START-2 treaty to expire overnight; and now we officially do not have any nuclear arms treaties for the first time in more than fifty years! We can only presume that our leaders didn’t want to extend that deal or expand on it because they plan on building up their nuclear weapons capacity – and Russia, China, and other countries will need to come to that same conclusion and respond accordingly. That is insane; and nobody should want to start up a new round of arms races and the fear that goes along with the risks of global-level destruction! Ethan and I will not be distracted by the political sideshows while ignoring the truly-serious problems in the world, but it also sometimes feels like we’re unable to do anything to stop what is happening – even when we help out with all of the good we do through the family businesses and charities.
The end of the last nuclear arms treaty was far from the only story in the world, but there still isn’t any good news for Ukraine or the Middle East. The rhetoric playing at peace talks is nonsense; since the ‘western’ demands basically boil down to having both Russia and Iran completely capitulate and allow the United States to rule and exploit their countries and the rest of the world too. That isn’t peace – it is conquering, and while we wouldn’t suggest that western powers can’t continue to do that for longer than anyone can predict; we are sure that there will be wars over those resources if we keep going down this road!
That’s another depressing thought to end our update on, but we’ve had enough for tonight; and we’ll move on and try to come up with happier thoughts to take into dreamland. That might be easier for Ethan, since he just needs to replay that victory kiss with Naomi after their game night win, but either way; that’s all for this report and we’re out of here starting right now.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
