MORE COMPLETE
The three-day weekend for the children has come to an end. Tomorrow, they must all return to school, but this Monday was not wasted, as each child did something constructive.
Before the children woke up for the start of their busy Monday, I had already finished the work I had scheduled, had my car inspected, and submitted all the paperwork for the new registration sticker which was immediately handed over to me so that I could replace the old one before the month’s end. A productive start to a new week.
As soon as I got home, I prepared my Croatian coffee and toasted the Portuguese water bread I bought yesterday. At that point, Cinnamon awoke and asked for the oatmeal that was planned for today’s breakfast. Oatmeal with apples, yogurt, walnuts, and cinnamon. I prefer mine with mashed bananas, but my children do not.
After the late breakfast, I watched a few episodes of a Netflix series with my oldest daughter. She then spent the rest of the afternoon working on her senior homecoming mum. Glitter and ribbons all over the glass dining table. Some glitter making its way on the floor. I heard the stapler doing overtime as Saffron meticulously fastened the ribbons into beautiful curves.
My middle daughter worked tirelessly on endless questions for her chemistry review and made sure she was caught up with her other classes.
Sage continued his Lego cleanup. Organising his walk-in closet which was overflowing with Lego sets. Ones that were unable to fit in the two Ikea cabinets he built at the beginning of summer.
‘Too many Legos?’, I asked him as I found even more sets in the living room.
‘There can never be too many Legos’, he replied. Somehow, I guessed that was exactly what he would say.
After he completed his project, I took him to a friend’s house to hang out for a few hours before dinner. On the way there, we talked about the unrelenting 35 degrees Celsius heat which wore us down even to the end of September. I mentioned that the average summer temperature in Seattle is 25 degrees Celsius. He was excited as he also likes cooler weather.
When I returned home, I did some more research on Seattle, focusing first on the potential concert trip. Trying to find an affordable place to stay near the arena was proving to be a challenge. But it is something I feel I need to do in order to get out of my comfort zone. Of staying home and doing nothing, especially during a time when I did not need to ask for time off from work.
As the day drew to a close, I went for my evening walk and run. My son arrived home at the same time as I did. After a quick shower, I took the girls to their house to get some clothes for this week’s homecoming theme. I found a dubbed Danish movie to keep me occupied as I waited for them in the car.
For dinner, we had tacos. Not the usual ones with beans and tortillas, rather with ground beef and hard-shell tacos, guacamole, cheese, red onions, sour cream, and salsa. Nothing was left, as they devoured every last crumb. Something I am not used to when it’s just my son and me.
This time together at home during the long weekend and at the dinner table made things feel more complete. Like times when they were younger and we saw each other more often.
