A sunshiney day and a visit from afar.

I'm not certain how much you'll see of me this week as, in the words of Captain Comic before he boarded the school bus this morning, "The grandparents and the college student arrive tonight."

My parents decided to come down from Connecticut during my niece's Spring Break.  She and Captain Comic have a really special bond, though there is a nine year difference between them.  Or maybe it's because there's a nine year difference between them. 

There was time, back before our move to Virginia, when we would show up at Gaga and Papa's house about once a month from Massachusetts.  We were the excuse for everyone to get together as my brothers and their families both still live within a thirty minute drive of the house we grew up in, where my parents still live.  So my niece has really been missing the former usual family gatherings.  I think she's also hitting that age of college students, where when she goes home, things are changing, she is changing, so the old familiar feelings make her nostalgic for what was.  She's finishing her junior year and I recall that feeling well at the same age.  Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.  

I miss those regular visits, too, especially to watch my nephews and niece grow up and for my parents to see all their grandkids and for my kids to see where we all come from in my parents, and where I grew up.

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Yesterday turned out to be gorgeous outside.  I moved from the cave like couch to a sunny lounge chair, with the intent of reading in the fresh air.  Toots and Captain Comic had other plans involving digging up my garden plots; running around dodging Lucy bombs all over the yard - time to break out the pooper scooper; sucking nectar from unidentifiable weeds - 'clover only, kiddo!'
'what?  i do this all the time!  these aren't poisonous!'
'how do you know? I don't even know what those are!'

 and jumping on the 'twampowine!'

I was heart in throat a bit concerned when he helpfully jumped off the trampoline with her in his arms, not very securely, inducing a whiplash like bounce of her head.  But she said her neck didn't hurt, and she's been acting normally since.  Sometimes that kid just moves too fast and doesn't stop to listen about the best way to go about things until it's too late.  He's on a mission, you know, in everything he does. 

But the toddler lives and without the need of a neckbrace.  Intent is nine tenths of the law, but that last tenth is a doozy.