Before the drive

Wake from dreams of storytelling to a group of children holding boughs of woven goldenrod in the summer, to texts from siblings about Black Friday deals for Playmobil and Duluth Trading firehose pants and the snow forecast for Saturday… watch video of cinnamon harvesting as the kids pile back on top of us… “Can you make pancakes?”
An hour later Oxbear mixes pancake batter while I continue Christmas purchases from my laptop and write packing lists for tomorrow’s departure

First Amazon holiday delivery arrives at the door smelling heavy of weed… cough cough
Puck leaves for a four-hour shift in produce at two…
Yali peels off a duct tape bandage (we do have actual bandages here)…
Oxbear models Wolverine claws for the 3D printer (for Yali)…
Patience uses my old-fashioned pen and ink set inspired by “Little Women” with all the – all – the questions… “Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?” “Are they engaged?” “Are they married?” “Do they love each other?” **giggle giggle giggle** as opposed to her mama’s corresponding Google searches… “Value of $40,000 in 1870?” “Age difference between Winona Ryder and Gabriel Byrne?” “Scarlet fever causes heart failure?”

Oxbear returns from an oil change in the Toyota to throw pork steaks and spices together for the smoker for Puck the two days we’re gone… before driving Yali over for a weekend with “Nana and Papa”
Puck returns from work at six o’clock, proudly explaining that he believes he is officially “immune to the cold”… tries out an old denim jacket he hasn’t worn in years for a “new” look…
All the kids hug goodbye… Patience tucked into bed, Yali out to St. Peters, Puck out to O’Fallon, but not before he asks me for some of the shiny wrapping paper (and then for me to tie a white ribbon around the wrapped gift, because his skills do not currently include ribbon tying)