St. James Day -- A Day in the Life

I've been reading day-in-the-life farm pieces and was inspired. I used to journal our days frequently when the kids were little. It feels a lot harder to do these days! Since I selected, St. James Day, however, it is an unusual day to document. It is something of a ritual, a family holiday, bowing to the basketball enthused portion of our family (and extended family)...

6:00am: The hubby and I rolled out of bed for our morning walk. Munchkin Boy joined us. We are currently walking a 2-mile route to the university and back.

Conversation on the walk:

• The state of Kansas government (depressing), school funding, and the status of homeschooling laws in our state
• Virulent expansion, Japanese history, and China constructing islands
• Munchkin Boy told us about his Groundhog Day moment while playing Fallout 3

7:00am: Munchkin Boy and I tag-teamed the dishes/dish drainer. Everyone made breakfast individually. Munchkin Boy looked up Dagen H on wikipedia (the day traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left to the right).

7:40am: Hubby and Munchkin Boy discuss umlauts. Quote of the day: "Let me make up some German words for you." This leads to a lengthy discussion about the German language, hubby's background in language study. Munckin #1 joins us.

8:00am: MB watches The Co-Optional Lounge where they were playing a table top game simulator.

8:30am: I leave MB with the task of preparing 7-layer dip for our gathering with friends this afternoon. I leave instructions for Middle Munchkin to collect and clean out our cooler (to carry food to the gathering).

Munchkin #1, Hubby and I leave the house in three different vehicles. We are headed for the same location, but have plans to leave separately.

8:40am: M1 sends a thank you note for a scholarship she will receive next school year. I then help her find some documents she needs for an application. (This requires a trip home. I had put them in a safe place! I hate when I do that...)

9:15am: I get a call from hubby that there are people at the market office who are waiting to meet with me. I have just place hands on the above-mentioned documents, so I rush back to the office. After the market meeting, I work on billing for hubby's office until it's time to go.

10:45am: Hubby and I lock up the office and head home. We are gathering at a friend's house for St. James Day and must leave by 10am to get there on time.

10:50am: Arrive home to find the kids ready to go (not Munchkin #1, she has decided to attend her classes and enjoy the rest of her day at home alone.

11:25am: We are on the road. I can't explain it. Even though everyone was ready, it seems to take a while to get into the car and on the road.

Conversation for the car ride:

• Who am I kidding, it is St. James Day and there is a game during the drive. The car ride is spent listening to basketball.

12:55am: Arrive at our destination, perfectly on time for the 1ish start time of our St. James Day party. We are joined by four of our "community dinner" families... kind of an intentional set of gatherings that grew from our once full and active homeschool playdate group.

What follows is several hours of good conversation, a taco bar meal, and folks watching basketball games on television. The kids play board games, some actual basketball in the driveway, and alternate hanging out with the talkers and the television watchers. They are older and there certainly aren't as many kids joining us this St. James Day as there have been in the past, but in many ways this afternoon is just like old times.

6pm(?) or something after: We say our goodbyes and make the long drive home again.

Once home, hubby and I enjoy listening as the kids catch up. I think Munchkin #1 may have missed us a bit.