Quiet Family Day

Much to my chagrin, I woke up early today (between the soccer players, Josh snoring on one side of me and Eli "Mama, I had a bad dream!" snoring away on the other, I just couldn't sleep past 7:30). I got up and actually managed to do a little bit of writing before the kid got up--not enough, never nearly enough, but at least it sort of got me back into the groove. I'm on another hard part right now--starting a new plot thread/story arc--and it's going pretty slowly, like having to dig through mud and pebbles, washing and sifting for the occasional glinty nugget of a solid sentence.

After that, I spent most of the day in relative leisure puttering around the house, putting up Halloween deco with an eager Eli, napping, cleaning up a bit. Then in the late afternoon we went to Golden Gate Park with my parents and Dave, Keri, Jonah and Zinnie. Josh and Keri took the kids to the playground while Mom and Dad and Dave and I walked through the rhododendron groves and around the conservatory, remembering Poppa. It was a gorgeous day to be in the park, and a rare treat to be hanging out as the core foursome, even though the topic was sad and mom was really melancholy. (Understandably so.)

After the park, we went back to Mom and Dad's house for Orchid Thai takeout (and mac & cheese for the boys) and decadent desserts. It was some good family time, and I'm glad we got to spend that time together before what is no doubt going to be a maelstrom of family politics and drama tomorrow at Poppa's memorial service. Sigh. Here's hoping everyone can at least be civil and respectful of the occasion tomorrow.