proper(?) update
Feb. 17th, 2004 01:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojSo, the weekend. Yeah, I know, it's Tuesday. I'm running a little behind everywhere, not just lj.
Susan and Todd and Turtle and Zany dropped by on Saturday afternoon, left Sunday afternoon, and we didn't do much other than just be. Normally we take the kids for a hike or something, but it was pretty cold and they didn't particularly want to go anywhere. Besides, we were all OK with just lounging around.
Good visit. Really good. They're doing a whole hell of a lot better than they have been in months. Things are still not great, but at least they're getting back to normal. And it was so wonderful to see Todd and Susan seeming happy to be near each other again. Knowing first-hand what it's like when your marriage is not so much a loving partnership as it is a hostile co-existence, what we saw this weekend was much, much better.
There were so many cutesey moments, too. Especially a lot of Justin and Zany moments. Zane's 18 months old now, and Justin just glows in his presence. He always wanted to know where Zany was, and often patted or hugged him, or just had fun watching him. He was even cute when he got mad because Zany touched the computer. He was very stern, and told him, "Zany, DON'T TOUCH!" many times, but he seemed very well aware that Zany was little and did not deserve the kind of fury he would've unleashed on Daniel had Daniel been the offender. He even tried to explain to Zany why he shouldn't touch the computer. Zany smiled at him and gurgled.
Man, Justin would've made such a good big brother.
There were also a whole bunch of very cool Turtle and Daniel moments. For me the neatest one was after Turtle had opened her Christmas present (yeah, I know, delayed gratification) and asked me to read to her and Daniel. I'd gotten her a boxed set of The Secrets of Droon - Narniaesque books where kids going into a closet (or rather, a small room under the basement stairs) end up in a magical land.
I started the first chapter, and they seemed pretty interested. Went on to Chapter 2, hoping we could finish it before they got antsy. Reached the end and they were still engaged. Very pleased with the success of this little book gift, I went to close the book - and got HOWLS of dismay from both of them. "Nooo!!! You can't leave it there!! Keep reading, please!!!"
Um, OK, I read another chapter. By the end of the visit (ie, the next day) Todd and I had read about 7 chapters in all. And Turtle and Daniel had pored over all the pictures in the book (plus the accompanying Land of Droon map), and done their own version of live fanfic, pretending to be Princess Keeah and various other Droon characters.
Another moment that sticks out: all three older kids went to sleep in Daniel and Justin's room, and when the grownups went to bed later we found the three of them sleeping like little angels. Turtle had even cuddled up to Justin and had her arm over his little chest. Aaaawww...
Another wonderful thing was being with Todd & Susan after the kids were in bed. We used to do that a lot when we were in Kingston, chatting as grownups without interruptions after the kids were put away. But it's been a long, long time since the last time we did that. Either Todd hasn't come along on the Ottawa visits, or we've stayed in a hotel rather than their house in Kingston so as not to overwhelm them, or whatever.
It was really nice to reconnect. And to talk about regular life, not just about all the problems we're all having.
***
After the weekend, we decided to finish up all the Christmas/birthday gift-giving, and the boys got a few more books. A Dora the Explorer collection for Justin, a "Magic Tree House" collection for Daniel, and a Robert Munch collection for both.
And you know, I always feel like I've done something very very right when my kids get enthused about getting books as gifts. Justin was in his own little world, looking immensely studious with his glasses and his serious little face, carefully absorbing the whole Dora book. Daniel almost shrieked when he saw the Magic Treehouse set - he'd borrowed Dinosaurs Before Dark from the library this year, and really enjoyed it. He now has Dinosaurs, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon (basic premise of Magic Tree House: two kids find a treehouse full of books, and discover that it can take them into the worlds pictured in the books. Neat way to make kids appreciate history.)
***
Back to work/school on Monday. We had a hell of a shock at our marriage counseling session, in that our counselor will not be available for the next few months because of serious illness. But one good thing came out of it. She told us of other counselors that she would recommend until she's back on her feet, and told us where she thought we were in terms of counseling. She pointed out all the progress we've made and... yeah, I hadn't really realized it, but we have. At least in terms of trust and friendship and being able to get our marriage back into a (mostly) good place, despite the crap we've both put up with.
Good to hear that kind of thing from an outside source.
***
So. Now here I am, ready to plunge back into my insane quest to get ahead one week in my readings, just in case I don't drop out for the year after all (meeting with Assistant Dean in about an hour).
To wit:
Property: Qualified Estates and Future Interests
Legislation: Delegation and Incorporation by reference
THS msgs?
Susan and Todd and Turtle and Zany dropped by on Saturday afternoon, left Sunday afternoon, and we didn't do much other than just be. Normally we take the kids for a hike or something, but it was pretty cold and they didn't particularly want to go anywhere. Besides, we were all OK with just lounging around.
Good visit. Really good. They're doing a whole hell of a lot better than they have been in months. Things are still not great, but at least they're getting back to normal. And it was so wonderful to see Todd and Susan seeming happy to be near each other again. Knowing first-hand what it's like when your marriage is not so much a loving partnership as it is a hostile co-existence, what we saw this weekend was much, much better.
There were so many cutesey moments, too. Especially a lot of Justin and Zany moments. Zane's 18 months old now, and Justin just glows in his presence. He always wanted to know where Zany was, and often patted or hugged him, or just had fun watching him. He was even cute when he got mad because Zany touched the computer. He was very stern, and told him, "Zany, DON'T TOUCH!" many times, but he seemed very well aware that Zany was little and did not deserve the kind of fury he would've unleashed on Daniel had Daniel been the offender. He even tried to explain to Zany why he shouldn't touch the computer. Zany smiled at him and gurgled.
Man, Justin would've made such a good big brother.
There were also a whole bunch of very cool Turtle and Daniel moments. For me the neatest one was after Turtle had opened her Christmas present (yeah, I know, delayed gratification) and asked me to read to her and Daniel. I'd gotten her a boxed set of The Secrets of Droon - Narniaesque books where kids going into a closet (or rather, a small room under the basement stairs) end up in a magical land.
I started the first chapter, and they seemed pretty interested. Went on to Chapter 2, hoping we could finish it before they got antsy. Reached the end and they were still engaged. Very pleased with the success of this little book gift, I went to close the book - and got HOWLS of dismay from both of them. "Nooo!!! You can't leave it there!! Keep reading, please!!!"
Um, OK, I read another chapter. By the end of the visit (ie, the next day) Todd and I had read about 7 chapters in all. And Turtle and Daniel had pored over all the pictures in the book (plus the accompanying Land of Droon map), and done their own version of live fanfic, pretending to be Princess Keeah and various other Droon characters.
Another moment that sticks out: all three older kids went to sleep in Daniel and Justin's room, and when the grownups went to bed later we found the three of them sleeping like little angels. Turtle had even cuddled up to Justin and had her arm over his little chest. Aaaawww...
Another wonderful thing was being with Todd & Susan after the kids were in bed. We used to do that a lot when we were in Kingston, chatting as grownups without interruptions after the kids were put away. But it's been a long, long time since the last time we did that. Either Todd hasn't come along on the Ottawa visits, or we've stayed in a hotel rather than their house in Kingston so as not to overwhelm them, or whatever.
It was really nice to reconnect. And to talk about regular life, not just about all the problems we're all having.
After the weekend, we decided to finish up all the Christmas/birthday gift-giving, and the boys got a few more books. A Dora the Explorer collection for Justin, a "Magic Tree House" collection for Daniel, and a Robert Munch collection for both.
And you know, I always feel like I've done something very very right when my kids get enthused about getting books as gifts. Justin was in his own little world, looking immensely studious with his glasses and his serious little face, carefully absorbing the whole Dora book. Daniel almost shrieked when he saw the Magic Treehouse set - he'd borrowed Dinosaurs Before Dark from the library this year, and really enjoyed it. He now has Dinosaurs, The Knight at Dawn, Mummies in the Morning, and Pirates Past Noon (basic premise of Magic Tree House: two kids find a treehouse full of books, and discover that it can take them into the worlds pictured in the books. Neat way to make kids appreciate history.)
Back to work/school on Monday. We had a hell of a shock at our marriage counseling session, in that our counselor will not be available for the next few months because of serious illness. But one good thing came out of it. She told us of other counselors that she would recommend until she's back on her feet, and told us where she thought we were in terms of counseling. She pointed out all the progress we've made and... yeah, I hadn't really realized it, but we have. At least in terms of trust and friendship and being able to get our marriage back into a (mostly) good place, despite the crap we've both put up with.
Good to hear that kind of thing from an outside source.
So. Now here I am, ready to plunge back into my insane quest to get ahead one week in my readings, just in case I don't drop out for the year after all (meeting with Assistant Dean in about an hour).
To wit:
- answer Sarah's e-mail
- home page
- call Bourke's
- PSE
- call hospital re.
insuranceand OHIP number - Contracts: Mistake in Assumptions
- Sherwood v. Walker
- Bell v. Lever Bros
- Magee v. Pennine Insurance
- Holmes v. Walker
go over week 2 notes
- Sherwood v. Walker
go over week 2 notesre. McGolgan, Mossman 282Mossman, pp.306-317- Mossman, pp.317-338
CB 31-47- JM Keyes article
go over week 2 notes
