Already knew that today was going to be an adventure. Not so surprising, my body said to get up before dawn to be ready! So after a morning shave and shower, coffee and paper on the lanai, it was time to gather up tools, and make ready for the stops I would make on the way to spend the day with Christian, Jamie, Allie, Bella, and Spike.
The route meant a stop at the bank, then to Home Depot to get light bulbs (back bathroom) and spackling compound (to repair Spikes wall) and then off to Largo. As I was walking in to the apartment, Christian greeted me and said he was going to his Dad's office the pick up the boys -- they were going to spend the night with them! While he was gone, Jamie and Allie (and Bella and Spike) and I had the apartment to ourselves -- did lots of visiting and lots of watching Allie practice. I believe she is going to skip crawling and go straight to walking. She must have stood upright (supporting herself with her keyboard or convenient fingers) for close to an hour. The muscle development in her thighs and calves are noticable, and at one point she was delighting herself by bouncing! Before the boys got back, I got the corner repaired -- at least the first coat.
Jamie fixed her spaghetti for the crowd (it was delicious -- my kind of comfort food!) out on their patio on the table that great-grandmother Gandy started housekeeping with. The boys, of course, were totally absorbed with either the computer or the games (whatever it is called) on the TV. Not so absorbed at to miss lunch. I had taken Jamie some fresh tomatoes, and a small plate ot the infamous brownies. Jarrod got to do the quality control, pronounced them very good, and was as amazed as I on the pudding part that was totally unexpected. We agreed that we would do them again, only this time, we fill follow only the recipe that came with the pan -- exactly.
Being a part of that crowd was affirming, enjoyable, and challenging -- trying to keep up. Josh patiently explained the game he was playing on the TV -- learning it as it happened -- made even more amazing because it required reading -- way above his level. I put on a second patch coat on the wall, leaving it for Christian to sand if need be, and getting it painted. Josh told me as I was leaving that he has a thousand cards to read, (from the kids at Randal Middle School). Christian and I agreed that he would be quite proficient in reading cursive when he finished that task.
After getting home, and taking a nap, I decided to learn more about the new iLife software -- particularly the face recognition that has been added. Was particularly interested to see how well it handled the twins -- and the changing feature of Allie. I was impressed. It also made for a very pleasant walk down many memory lanes -- with lots of the family. The Margaret collection will be visited again -- over the time span that I have in the computer, there is a virtual encyclopedia of her feelings, excitements, thoughtful, pensive and celebratory times in context. Yes, it is a reminder that I no longer have the container of that love and caring -- it is also an affirmation of the richness of the memories that will be forever mine!
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