Next

It was, naturally enough, easier to start from the urban homestead. All of the players could coordinate on fairly short time schedules. Adding 3 and 5 hour drives to the starting point complicates things considerable. The grunt force (2 adult sons) is here before the packers (hubs and I) are ready for them. This morning started with eldest son (36/single) doing his sleep drama thing in the name of narcolepsy and the curse of good hearing. Youngest son (32/father) and I talking quietly in the kitchen was enough to spin him into a door-slamming, gruff voiced scream scene. Nothing new. Footsteps on carpet have been enough to set him off for the last 20 years. I had siblings/parents similarly afflicted. I am never quite sure which is the hearing handicap: My inability to catch sounds reliably or their hair-trigger sensitivity to all sounds. I sleep better for the limited hearing ranges. Somebody hanging out the window yelling for the wild birds to "Shut the fuck up" is downright pathetic.

Hm-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m. . . Insert balancing agent here? What a perfect moment for a particularly loud hail to the dawn from the tree over my head here on the patio. Even *I* could hear that one.

I am thrilled that 3 year old grandson got to come. He has been obsessively interested in the talk of "geat gampy house" and "gammy farm." I suspect he would have focused that obsessive energy on his little sister (1 year) if he had been left behind. Siblings sure make handy targets for obsessive energy. "Geat gampy house" is a pretty big deal on his toddler radar. I revel in his presence here. I believe that babies are the most reliable emotional barometers ever designed. I am looking to him to alert me to any potential emotional escalations. Methinks we need the extra monitoring. The potential for domestic drama is feeling quite intense this morning. Maybe we can even work on helping him learn to enunciate his "R's."

Small steps, big faith and lots of healing hopes for all.