Ethan and Ehlana:
Our first school day of February has been
pretty good; and we loved getting a second weather day with a high around
sixty. That break from winter isn’t
going to last; so we enjoyed it while we could – including going biking with
our friends again after school instead of going to the lab or archives. There isn’t much to report from our academic
adventures beyond a bit of bonus outdoor time once it warmed up this afternoon,
and while we had a blast with the outdoor time after school; there wasn’t
anything newsworthy to write about. We
did stick to the main trails, since most of the trails can’t be ridden on in
winter even on warm days – not that reality keeps some guys from trying
anyway. Thankfully, none of those guys
required medical attention related to risky biking practices, but we did joke
about the need for mental health experts at the medical center! ;^)
Moving along, we came home from the biking
in time for dinner; enjoyed that meal with Mom and Dad; took care of the
clean-up; and then we got to work in the office. The family business and charity work went
well; Mom did a Magi lesson with us; and then bath or Jacuzzi time was needed
before we got around to the twin chat and bedtime computer checks. Cassie and Michael are in Guatemala this
week, but only for four work days because they’ll move on to Mexico on Friday
and will be taking a week off for a vacation for Cassie’s birthday through
Valentine’s Day. We really wish that we
could be there for that part of the trip, but it won’t happen; so we’ll try to
do our best to have fun here at home instead.
Their work in Guatemala is important, and we helped out from here with a
bit of our work; so we are collectively doing a good job helping locals with
issues ranging from community infrastructure and decent jobs to environmental
and wildlife management projects.
On the world news and politics front, the
hits keep coming. One of the top stories
today is President Trump’s decision to roll USAID into the State
department. Other than the likely loss
of jobs as that happens, we have no idea whether this change will make any
difference for actual activities and programs that USAID operates now; so we’ll
wait to see whether serious changes are made so that USAID isn’t used for the
wrong reasons anymore. The tariffs
battle is having some impacts already, and on the Mexico side of that story,
their President has committed to putting ten thousand troops on the border to
help with stopping illegal immigration and drug smuggling. We will again wait to see whether any of
these political plays lead to actual results that are good for everyone – or anyone;
and we’ll keep you posted if we do eventually get some good news. We can’t offer any happy stories yet from any
of the ongoing conflicts. Ukraine
continues to be destroyed while their own leaders continue with the insane
policies that are ruining their country and will take decades to repair if they
even have a country left to rebuild whenever the war does end. Syria is on the way to being ruined too, and
our leaders should not be proud of replacing the Assad regime with a radical
Islamist dictator who is busy turning Syria into another Afghanistan.
These stories are getting depressing, so
let’s stop there and wrap this up. We’ve
had a good day and want to head off to dreamland with happy thoughts. No, Ehlana, I am not going to think about
pink, fluffy bunnies – or not think about them, but have fun if that actually
works for you, sis! If you really want
to take this wrap-up into fiction, though, instead of a ‘Good Witch’ reference;
I’d pick Harry Potter; since Naomi is always at the top of my list for happy
thoughts – even though I can’t use them to create a Patronus! ;^)
Now that we’ve moved from serious to silly,
it is definitely time for us to call it a night and get some sleep – so we
will.
Until next time, live with love, fellow
Magi of the Light!