September 8th 2019

Today we had a family roast dinner to welcome Mum and Dad home from their 3-month road trip around Europe. Now that they’re back, it doesn’t feel like they were gone for very long, but when they were away it felt like they’d been gone for ages. That’s probably not too uncommon a phenomenon.

I lived in their house (our house?) while they were away, and amazingly somehow did not burn it down. There was that one time I had to drive home from work to check I’d turned the stove off (I had) but other than that the house remained in the same state in which they’d left it. Also, all three indoor fish were still alive, though the outside pond had completely dried up from where I’d forgotten to top it up with water. Fortunately, there were no fish in that pond, so my success ratio at keeping fish alive remained at 100%. Also, I didn’t kill any of Mum’s orchids.

Honestly, I’m not sure who’s more shocked by how well I looked after the house: Mum, or me. I think it’s maybe me.

It’s great to have them back, if not only for this specific reason:

For her first meal back she pulled out all the stops with roast lamb and all the trimmings. The gravy was so good that I forgave her for forgetting to get the mint sauce out of the fridge.

They had an amazing trip, and it was great to hear all about it first hand, and see the excitement and joy in their faces as they told and retold their stories, but I think they’re also glad to be back, if not only for this specific reason:

They couldn’t go too much longer without seeing the family.

Until tomorrow, ditto.

Jacn