Here’s a non-chronological inaccurate account of the last few months while central Texas went from winter storm to summer with a quick stop at a few blue bonnets along the way. If you blinked this year you missed the wildflowers and spring.
Evan celebrated his birthday with a sleepover. Vivian and her friends got invited back to her alumni school gala. Jo went to Jordan on a whim and did all kinds on adventure travel things like camping in the desert and hiking up a river along with the more mundane stuff like walking around Petra and swimming in the Dead sea. We went to New Braunfels with Nicolle’s family and Greta on a very warm afternoon for Pride celebrations and the kids and I saw our very first drag show – a very interesting and unexpectedly not smutty event. Devyn made sure that my presence was memorialized on the banner. Jen visited for a weekend at Becky’s mother’s lake house and Jo and Ouiser made it clear that they didn’t like speeding around Lake LJB in a boat which Becky drove like she drives her minivan – very very nonchalantly fast. We sorta felt like the pandemic finished again and then almost everyone got Covid but mostly the garden variety.
Zeus got chunky and decided she’ll only sleep on top of one of us. Ouiser and I walked most mornings at St. Edward’s park or Turkey Creek. She’d jump in the creek for a swim and later my car would smell like wet swamp dog.
Summer vacation finally got here. Everyone survived another year of school. Vivian made some good new friends at her new high school and kept a few old ones. They changed pronouns, created art, had fun, and would have won the award for Freshman Who Made Honor Roll With The Least Work if only that award existed. Vivian went off to Chestertown with their friend and their family for Memorial Day weekend. Evan came to terms with being a science nerd and that he doesn’t hate math. He told his humanities teacher that “emotions are for the weak” during a class discussion and we were notified, just in case he’s a nutcase. He was (momentarily) the tallest and fasted kid on the soccer team and his team finished another championship season. When not asleep, he’d rather be playing Minecraft with is friends, Hollow Knight by himself, or watching YouTube videos of others playing Minecraft or Hollow Knight. He went to an obligatory video game designing camp and Vivian to mural painting camp so we can say the kids did something cerebral during the summer break.
Then we went to see Aaron become Colonel Clark, USAF, Ret., at a lovely ceremony at Langley AFB in Virginia, during which time Ouiser stayed with June and Elizabeth in Austin. Jo and the kids stayed on and visited with Jen in Fredericksburg and Jo’s Wash Coll friends in Chestertown. I returned to Austin and Ouiser and I spent a quiet week at home during a part of which Jen came and stayed with us while she was in Austin for business. Then I dropped Ouiser off at Grandma’s in Dawson for the rest of summer and and left Zeus in Ava and Sofia’s care and met Alu in New York for a fun day at the Consulate General of India. In one of those small-world moments we met up with Mayura, Hansa, and her husband in New York for lunch. I go back to Wakefield with Alu and the rest of my crew will meet us and Michelle there during the 4th of July weekend. Can’t wait to get a bowl of Brickley’s ice cream and a walk on Narrangasett beach.
Meanwhile it’s a 105 in Austin. Stay cool, y’all.
Notes from Dad 