Yesterday was a typical day here in Flagstaff. It was a Sunday and the girls are on break from school so we all slept in till about nine. I love sleeping in, especially when the days are short and the sky is grey. We all lazed around the house all morning, drinking coffee or tea, eating toast and cookies. The house is so full of sweets right now that we have to spread the eating of them throughout the day. I worked out and I made the girls work out to my bollywood video - just to get them moving a little to burn off some of that sugar and restless energy. We talked on the phone, plans were made, and the obligatory straightening and cleaning of the house occurred.
The girls worked on a craft project with a friend who came over. They made hair clips out of bottle caps, buttons, etc. While they were doing that in the kitchen, I was making their pajamas in the workroom. I make them flannel p.j.s every Christmas. I have done so since they were about 1 year old. I ignore and resent the "warning" on the flannel. We have photos of them every year in their new p.j.s on Christmas eve. I like this tradition but the girls like it even more. I plan to do it till they leave home. My mom did the same for us and there were 7 of us girls!
In the afternoon, both girls got separate invitations to sleep over at their respective friend's house. (I don't normally allow this as a rule, but these were both families that I am close friends with so that is the exception). So we unloaded them at their various destinations, gave them the reminders of the usual rules... and said good night.
David and I were happy to be able to have a date night to do whatever we wanted without any responsibilities. We did have some errands to run - get detergent and blank CDs from Target, fill the gas tank, get some videos; it was crowded and yucky with tired people and crying children - then we headed downtown to go out to dinner.
We heard about a new restaurant and wanted to check it out. Since this is somewhat of a tourist town, there are loads of restaurants, but there are very few that we actually like and frequent. I am a good cook so I am picky about taste and quality. I also like a nice but casual, fun but not too loud, friendly and warm atmosphere. We were excited to find that this new place could be added to our list.
We had a delicious dinner and came home for dessert, a nightcap, and a video. It may sound like old-stodgy people entertainment, but we loved it. We did watch "The Hangover" which was surprisingly funny and well done.
Upon reflection, I considered this a very successful day here. Mundane, yes, but nothing bad happened. No one got in a fight. Little things just seemed to fall into place and small tasks were accomplished. Nothing earth-shattering or transformative, but when you re-focus your expectations and slow down to the pace of a small town, you find entertainment and satisfaction in smaller, simpler things. Is this called "settling"? I don't know.
No comments:
Post a Comment