Domestic stirrings
So the kids are enjoying their first full week of summer vacation, and seem to be settling into their new schedule. I think we've reaped the largest benefit, as Bonnie and I no longer have to rise at the crack of dawn to make sure that Emmeline and Robert are ready to board the bus. Of everyone, the one who's been most ill at ease with this transition is our cat, Max. Max has been used to having the run of the house after the kids leave, and all the commotion caused by Bob and Emme being home has left Max a bit skittish -- he spends more time under our bed or under Bonnie's dresser than he did before.
One thing happened this week that upset us a bit -- our goldfish died. We'd had it for a very long time -- if memory serves, three years at least. It was a novelty gift that one of the older kids got for a cousin's birthday party -- a feeder fish like the kind you can buy at pet stores for loose change. We'd bought it a ten gallon tank, filter, rocks and plants, and it lived a good, long life.