Just came home from spending last night at Janice's with Jenni and the kids, helping prepare for a kid/adult Halloween party. I would have stayed for the whole thing (it ends tonight), but I wanted to be safe. Some members of the family aren't sure about me and I'd rather not start World War IV around the kids. (However, the only way they can be sure about me is to ask me, not make comments when they've never seen me.)
Things were chaotic, as can be expected when you have a household full of kids. The trip up was rather chaotic as well.
That darn night blindness thing I must have threatened to bite me throughout the 35-mile trip up there. The car has been running much better lately since I've figured out the last of its tricks. But it hadn't been tried for such a long distance at one time before (Flat Rock to St. Clair Shores). To make it worse, it began to rain slightly while waiting for Jenni in Flat Rock. Telegraph Road was going to be very tricky to manuever up.
I simply laid down the ground rules: when they saw me strain forward, all talking was to stop, as I had to concentrate hard to get around areas with either amber streetlights or no streetlights at all. Passing was a hazard. The kids obviously didn't get to say much during the trip, but I hope they understood why.
The car held up surprisingly well; didn't stall once, and we ended up at Janice's about 9 PM. The kids were up until 1 AM, Jen & me until at least 3 AM, which made for a 22-hour day for me. The kids, when together, are literal firecrackers. They're happy to see each other, and at the same time, fight for space. They fight over everything. Every half hour, something happened in that basement that required an adult. There were many threats of party cancellations.
Part of the reason Jenni and I were up so late was because the kids couldn't get settled downstairs. There were two pup tents, one larger than the other. Arguments ensued over who should get the bigger one, the smaller one, and the rug. Heck, I'd have preferred the rug just staring into the Halloween lights I strung on the ceiling!
Angie, one of Janice's friends, bounded down the steps and virtually waked the neighborhood up yelling at them. When it got to be too much, I went downstairs to handle it.
I've found the last thing these kids need is another adult yelling at them. That's partially why they act to the degree they do. I wanted to settle it diplomatically. Without raising my voice, I spent ten minutes in discussion planning their sleeping arrangements for that night as well as the next. Jenni came downstairs and saw immediately they were calmer. The others wondered how I was able to handle it so well. I kept the reasoning to myself, leaving it to the other adults (minus Jenni and I) to grasp the proceedings - and maybe learn something from it.
All else went well during the time there, and my car actually rewarded a rare showing of guts -- by travelling seventeen miles of expressway in a row - without stuttering or anything! I got home in a little under half-an-hour. Remember, the one time I tried to take Nine Mile Road, I spent an hour on that road alone.
Finally, it looks like the car is somewhat reliable now, which doesn't come a moment too soon. And from what I hear, things didn't end up so hot at the party after I left, so my going home averted World War V.*
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* Remember, George W. Bush started World War III in 2003.
