August 20, 2015 

Today was as special as it was exhausting for mom and me. My two nieces descended with the whole lot: 6 great-grandchildren to entertain mom. Five boys (including a set of triplets) and one lovely young lady. I made chocolate French toast, cranberry pecan French toast, and grilled maple apple sausage. I even had organic chocolate milk on hand and, of course, a bowl of freshly cut fruit. We cut mint from the garden and made mint tea. And the boys buried medals in the yard and gave me the chance to minister to a consequent mosquito bite.

I had never thought of my place as kid-friendly, but indeed it was. The children joyously climbed the horse chestnut tree, much to my delight. I had sworn to remove that tree and replace it with a smaller flowering tree. This spring, the arborists objected and asked me to give it another year. I had trouble parting with it so soon anyhow. It is still lovely and has such beautiful red spiked flowers in the spring. I told my arborists that I could not be there when they cut it down, and fortunately I spared myself that horror. How it lifted my heart to see these beautiful children climbing my tree. Their dad was on hand to help them and then there later to help them bury the objects in the yard. What a delightful day!

The hordes ran through the house as though they had lived in it all their lives. They went upstairs, downstairs, all the rooms. Even asked about playing in the basement, but my basement isn’t designed for play. Everything down there is neatly stored, but it is for storage. I almost regretted not having another play place for the children. Almost. Storage is at a premium here.

They are gone now. Mom is asleep on the porch, where she has been all day and away from those dreadful TV game shows. I am looking forward to the next visit and am planning to take my nieces and their children to Koziar’s Christmas Village. What a lovely trip that will be. It will be cold for sure out there in the country, but we will all warm up with hot cocoa and merriment.

If I could change one thing, I would ask that my departed sister-in-law join us. But then, maybe she was here today and maybe she will be with us again at Christmastime. One can hope and one can pray that her spirit lingers to watch over her children and watch her grandchildren grow.