Day 2.028: Can I make it any more?

Obviously!

Just before lunch I started up Rock Band to do a few solo guitar and vocals challenges. The girls watched when they weren't doing their tidying up. E5N1 went to the music box and brought his drum and drum sticks to stand next to me and rock-along.

After lunch I took Exile #4 out for a trip through the car wash while Exile #3 had a friend over for a play-date. Afterwards, we all went to the 'Y' - the girls to skate with their friend and her mom, Exile #2 to swim and E5N1 and me to watch the skating. When Exile #2 returned from her swim, I picked up some skates and header to the ice for the first time in at least 20 years. It was harder than I hoped, but easier than I feared. I did fall over twice, both without any real pain - once right in front of Exile #2, who despite having had the camera in hand a couple of minutes earlier, was not equipped to document the event.

This evening when our guests had gone we found E5N1 with his drum and sticks trying to switch the XBOX on - ready to rock once again. When we switched the radio in the kitchen over to a pop station as a low-maintenance alternative, he picked up his drum and carried it into the kitchen to play along.

It's pop pun 95 for title watchers: He was a punk, she did ballet.
(and today (Matthew) I was a...)

Day 2.027: Waveform

These impressive waves have formed from the piles of snow I left at the end of the drive. What combination of close encounters with plows, salt, passing cars, and sunshine caused them I don't pretend to know, but I think they look cool.

This evening we left our kids in bed under the potentially watchful eyes of Albaniana (thank you!) to spend some time with one of Exile #2's MOPS co-committee members and her husband - a local pastor. We decided to walk, but to take the simple route along the more major roads with their sidewalks. Wrong. The sidewalks were 20% snow, 50% bumpy ice, 20% smooth ice and 90% slow going. We had a very nice evening and found plenty to talk about. On the way home, we came the more direct route which involved walking on the roads by the snow banks in the dark - it took half the time!

Day 2.026: OK, but how?

I spent the evening with our church community discussing a decision about renting a property, but also discussing how these decisions are made. There is a definite tension between the 'we need to get things done' and the 'we are all in this together'. I am still looking for a third way. As someone recently said when accepting a high-profile new job: I reject as false the suggestion that we must choose between collaboration and leadership. Well, it was something like that - that's how I feel about this situation anyway.

The model was made by Exile #3 and me - she actually originally made concentric squares, but the inner one had a gap in it, so it looked to me like a maze - so we made it into one. Unlike our situation, it's not very complicated. Importantly however it does have somewhere to sit down in the middle - she knows that's what she's aiming for. She may take some wrong turns on the way.

Day 2.025: On ice

The girls had their first skating lessons of the year this evening. Indeed, it was Exile #4's first time on ice-skates and she did extremely well - even holding her own against the hockey-boys as you can see. Exile #3 had some lessons last year but remains much more tentative. E5N1 stayed off the ice, but was anything but tentative - wandering off to charm strangers in every direction - even through the rink-side windows!

Day 2.024: Saturday Breakfast 2

I feel the need to preface this by saying that we are one of those strange families that believes in sitting down at the table to eat breakfast. I must also say that it is a rare day when I actually manage this during the work week - but everyone else does.

So it was that several years before our US adventure, we started a family tradition of 'Saturday Breakfast' - bakery items (toast, muffins, crumpets, croissants,...) served in the living room with the TV on. This worked well for many years, but sometime last year it got to the point where it was not an enjoyable family experience. At the last moment, instead of abolishing it, we moved it away from the TV into the 'playroom' and Saturday mornings came alive again (after the complaints had died down of course). We have not looked back.

This however, was a new thing - Second (Saturday) breakfast - Sometime after we'd finished the real thing, Exile #3 laid this table for Exile #4 and herself. E5N1 also joined in - finding himself a place setting, but, until the girls left at least, no 'food'.