Normalcy

is what we're aiming for here. Today is my first full day at home in weeks. The house is looking a bit ragged. Ha! Who am I kidding? The house is trashed! But it is getting better as the piles of everything we've piled start to disappear one by one. Except the laundry pile.

I wasn't able to form an opinion of Charlie's first day of school because he wasn't very forthcoming. All he wanted to talk about was a new boy who is going to teach him "jitsu" (?) which is apparently a form of magic with some crows or something. I can't figure it out. It doesn't sound like something I will like when I finally figure it out. He seemed content enough after school, just not overly excited. He's a kid who is usually overly excited about school so I don't know what that means either.

And Grace is spending this, the last afternoon before she starts school, in her bed. By choice. She just got up, walked to her room and crawled into her bed. For a little bit she told me she had a tummy ache. Then it was a headache. Now she's not pretending to be sick but is busy telling stories to her stuffed animals and engaging in wild flights of fancy. The stuffed animals appear to be having a wonderful time.