More death, and some happier news
My father's last remaining sibling, my uncle Bubi, died this morning in the Netherlands. Now, he was 93, had suffered a stroke a couple of years ago and was receiving full-time care from his eldest daughter in their home (she never married and had always lived with her parents), so it's not like this was completely out of the blue. But still - it's not going to be fun news to impart to my father. Still trying to get ahold of him. (He often won't answer the phone, thinking it's spam.)
As a side note: Bubi was a survivor of the Japanese concentration camps during WWII, when Japan occupied Indonesia. My father was nearly taken, too, later on, but managed to escape on the way to the camp. Bubi eventually became a pilot for KLM, which meant his English was very good. I only got to meet him three times in my life (age 5, 16 and 40), but I've always known he was out there, you know? I'm sorry that era is over now.
And I'm just so boggled by the latest school shooting (there have been EIGHTEEN school shootings in 2018. And it's still February) I can't even process it. I just don't get it - I don't get at all why anyone would think that shooting a bunch of people is an appropriate response to anything. Sending thoughts to the families affected in Florida.
In happier news:
a) We got Two registered for TWO weeks at camp this summer. Now that they've ripped out the composting toilets and put proper plumbing in, Two is cautiously willing to give the longer separation a try. I think it will be good - he's always so upset the first 24 hours we have him back, returning to the land of cis-gendered people. The other reason we were eager to nudge him into the two-week camp this year is because the dates for the 2-week camp will be nearly the same as MiniPlu's 11-day trip to Ireland/Britain - which means we should have more than a week kid-free. (Estimated: MiniPlu's exact departure date still TBD.) If only we could afford to go away ourselves, but between both kids' trips and a planned long weekend at Disney with all six of us in November, and more home repairs on the horizon, it's just not in the cards.
b) If you have read Simon vs the Homo-Sapiens Agenda (and if you haven't, what are you waiting for??), you absolutely should read the fic I received for
chocolateboxcomm! Head down to toes, a reaction to you. NSFW, and oh-so-awesome. Give love to the author!
As a side note: Bubi was a survivor of the Japanese concentration camps during WWII, when Japan occupied Indonesia. My father was nearly taken, too, later on, but managed to escape on the way to the camp. Bubi eventually became a pilot for KLM, which meant his English was very good. I only got to meet him three times in my life (age 5, 16 and 40), but I've always known he was out there, you know? I'm sorry that era is over now.
And I'm just so boggled by the latest school shooting (there have been EIGHTEEN school shootings in 2018. And it's still February) I can't even process it. I just don't get it - I don't get at all why anyone would think that shooting a bunch of people is an appropriate response to anything. Sending thoughts to the families affected in Florida.
In happier news:
a) We got Two registered for TWO weeks at camp this summer. Now that they've ripped out the composting toilets and put proper plumbing in, Two is cautiously willing to give the longer separation a try. I think it will be good - he's always so upset the first 24 hours we have him back, returning to the land of cis-gendered people. The other reason we were eager to nudge him into the two-week camp this year is because the dates for the 2-week camp will be nearly the same as MiniPlu's 11-day trip to Ireland/Britain - which means we should have more than a week kid-free. (Estimated: MiniPlu's exact departure date still TBD.) If only we could afford to go away ourselves, but between both kids' trips and a planned long weekend at Disney with all six of us in November, and more home repairs on the horizon, it's just not in the cards.
b) If you have read Simon vs the Homo-Sapiens Agenda (and if you haven't, what are you waiting for??), you absolutely should read the fic I received for
chocolateboxcomm! Head down to toes, a reaction to you. NSFW, and oh-so-awesome. Give love to the author!