Bridge Passage

As Andy and I suspected, our first two days with our nephew, Anthony, were a little bit trying for all of us, nephew included. You know how it goes. It's a new house, he's unsure of the rules, and if it so happens that we let him get away with something he wouldn't get away with at home, fantastic. (That would be from his point of view, of course.) So we have done our best to be fair and consistent and clear with our rules and instructions, and we have felt rather like party poopers these last couple of days as most of our dialogue with Anthony has been of a negative persuasion. We were hoping that that would last only for a couple of days, and that once we all got used to each other, we would be able to keep pleasant company. Well, it's early on Day 3, and I think we may be on the right track.

I got up before Anthony this morning (first time that has happened) and felt quite rested. I've been a little under the weather for the last week, and have been rather tired, so it was nice to wake up and feel awake. Strong coffee didn't hurt, either. I made pancakes and eggs for breakfast, the kids have been great, and we're going to go to the park in a little while. I think that is a recipe for a good day. I'm even hopeful that I'll be able to fold and put away the load of clean laundry that has been sitting here for three days. We'll see.