Dear Diary, part thirty nine
September 1st
Dear diary,
It's that time of year again! We had a special family dinner last night to celebrate the end of summer/return to school,
though Stephan ate salad in the kitchen, as the fish was too strong a smell for him to stomach. My poor darling has been battling a stomach bug the last few days and has only just started on solid foods again.
He was well enough to pose for a new set of family photos yesterday, though. He'd insisted that we get some done before school started.
I was a bit hesitant at first, only because after the last time I had family pictures taken, my children were taken from me.
But Stephan kept reassuring me that that would never happen again, so we roped everyone into dressing up and posing for the camera.
It was so nice to dress up and have all my children and grandchildren there! I can't wait to get these photos back so I can hang them on the walls upstairs.
Xander and Wanda have been tormenting each other almost continually since they finally had their growth spurts, so it will be nice to have a break from their bickering.
Wanda has taken up painting as well as the piano, and she's already showing great talent!
Xander had been dabbling with the violin for a while, but he's recently knuckled down and has improved so much. I guess that our musical talents are genetic!
And then of course, school went back today! I was a bit excited too, I admit.
Stephan and I celebrated in our own way, once the kids were on the bus. Fortunately, Sadie was having an early nap so that worked out well for everyone!
Zady
September 10th
Dear Diary,
Oh, it's been good news all around! Landy and Jen have both started college - Jen majoring in Drama and Yolanda in Psychology - and it hasn't been two weeks yet, but the girls tell me they're on top of everything and are juggling it all quite well.
Their classes aren't on at the same time, so they don't need me to babysit or to get a nanny so far. They do get plenty of time with each other, too, which is important!
Landy told me that they're getting into a good routine, where she'll do study and research in the nursery while the boys play, and then when they're sleeping she'll work on her assignments.
And Jen does the same when she's home alone with them, though she likes to sit in there even when they're sleeping!
They've both taken to motherhood and parenting so well, I'm so proud of them both. Not just for their parenting, but for going to college and for overcoming everything they've both gone through.
I know they're both working hard and will succeed. They have more than enough drive and motivation to keep going!
I hope their course load won't be too hard on them. I'm a bit envious, truth be told.
I might be a bit old to go to college now, but I'm glad they get to go. I think it surprised their fellow students to learn how they're married with kids already, but maybe it'll help them keep focused.
I know Jen's had a few persistent fellows chasing her, and not believing that she's not only off the shelf but on the other team. I hope that settles down quickly.
They also took pains to assure me that it's not all work and no play, though I prudently didn't ask for more details there. There are some things a mother doesn't need to know!
But that's not the best news! The other day I received a call saying that my book was going to be PUBLISHED. Can you believe it? I am certainly still having trouble.
Even though today I received a special early editor's copy!!
It is so very surreal to see it in print like this. In a way it's a bit like looking through my old diaries, because the story is the same, but it's also like taking a peek into someone else's life. It's hard to believe all of this happened to one person, let alone happened to me! The official release is slated for early December, so that will be a very special present indeed!
Z
September 29th
Notes:
- Dun dun DUN. Just a short update this time. Well, compared to the last one, anyway!
- Cassandra wasn't meant to die. She wasn't meant to be out there at all! But she came running out, leapt through the ute and started putting the fires out...and then died. OOPS. Everyone else followed once she caught on fire, too. They were more upset about her than Dina or Don. Interesting...
- The cars were trying to swerve around each other, but they'd been driving a bit carelessly at that early hour of the day - you don't expect to get much traffic in such a quiet neighbourhood!
- I'm hoping it was obvious, but Don was dropping Dina back at home after a little midnight date.
- Landy and Jen are rocking the casual uni student look, I think. No need to dress up when you have papers and classes and two babies to care for!
- Wanda and Xander are addicted to noogies. It doesn't matter who to, as long as they can give them. They both only have 1 nice point (just like their dad), so this isn't a surprise. But WOW, Wanda is gorgeous.
- thank you jessalie_aranya for your assistance!
- I have updated the family tree again, as well as adding trees for the other families, just to help you keep them all straight.
Previous entries:
[ part one][ part two][ part three][ part four][ part five]
[ part six][ part seven][ part eight][ part nine][ part ten]
[ part eleven][ part twelve] [ part thirteen] [ part fourteen] [ part fifteen]
[ part sixteen] [ part seventeen] [ part eighteen] [ part nineteen] [ part twenty]
[ part twenty one] [ part twenty two] [ part twenty three] [ part twenty four] [ part twenty five]
[ part twenty six] [ part twenty seven] [ part twenty eight] [ part twenty nine] [ part thirty]
[ part thirty one] [ part thirty two] [ part thirty three] [ part thirty four] [ part thirty five]
[ part thirty six] [ part thirty seven] [ part thirty eight]
[ family tree]