June 29

This is actually a fairly representative photo collage of our Sunday.

We all got up on our own time (except for Isaac, who was rudely awakened by yours truly a few minutes after the clock struck noon. But I'm getting ahead of myself there).

Before any of the kiddos were up, Adam headed out to a local Avis rental car location with high hopes of securing a less tiny vehicle for our stay. He returned a little later with a mid-sized SUV --some sort of Volkswagen with New York plates-- but told me that something had gone awry on the way back to the house: a rock (or, as we now suspect, a bird) struck the undercarriage of the driver's side fender, causing it to bend. I have no idea how something like that even happens but we rolled our eyes, got into that second rental car, and returned to the local Avis. While I crossed the parking lot (in the blazing heat and sun; man alive, I am no longer accustomed to humidity) for some icy caffeinated sustenance from a nearby Mother Ship, Adam explained our plight, filled out an Incident Report (super excited for the outcome of that), and successfully snagged the only available large SUV: a giant Infiniti with Georgia plates that some dude had literally just returned a hot second earlier.

When we got back to the house, we found Brady and Abby awake and dressed, and I roused Isaac so we could leave for late brunch (which I could just call "lunch" but we all picked breakfast entrees so there's that) at the IHoP in Germanton. We took a quick run through Target for a few missing essentials and then stopped at Jimmie Cone for some ice cream. (Although I initially posted that I was the only one who got jimmies --also known as sprinkles-- I would like to formally correct that error and note that Abby actually did have rainbow jimmies with her ice cream.) We then returned to the house, where my mom was waiting with a key for us to borrow. After she left I promptly fell down the stairs to the basement (well, the last six or seven steps. Not the entire staircase. But I did make a nice, extended thunkety-thunk noise on the way down and I do have a nice bruise on my back to show for the effort).

Then I laid down on the couch in the living room (also known as Brady's Bed) and took a nap. Ah, sweet nap.

I'd been in touch with my brother Bobby since relatively early in the day (since I didn't sleep well; it was too warm and I was amped from traveling) and we arranged to meet for dinner at The Hornet's Nest in Damascus, so that's what we did this evening. We lingered over our food there, and then joined Bobby, Reaya, and Brendan back at their house for a few hours (partly to talk, and partly because the air conditioner at grandma's isn't cooling very well). I got to catch up with Reaya (and watch her while she worked with her sourdough starter, which is so interesting to me) while the boys (and Abby) watched "Dodgeball." 

It was late when we got back to grandma's house but I was in the mood to look for lightning bugs since it's not something we can do at home, so Isaac and I stayed out front and gazed into the distance over the wheat field until our eyes adjusted to the darkness. After observing for several minutes and seeing just a few (including one that seemed to be mimicking an airliner), we finally noticed a significant number of those distinctive little flashes high in the nearby trees. Out there in the silence, Isaac mused that he thought he could probably live in a rural place; the revelation didn't surprise me. I think the peace and the stillness appeal to him. 

And that was our day, in a relatively expansive nutshell. It was a good one and I am thankful for the company and the time. Weird in some ways (because how many people have three different rental cars within a 12-hour span?) but it's so good to be in this place that is so familiar and holds so many memories that I don't mind a little weirdness.