It is just past 9 PM, and I am exhausted. Little Chirp is in his room with Storme playing video games. I love that dangling participle. Presumably, it is Little Chirp that is playing the video games, and Storme is relaxing beside him. Trooper and Pumpkine are outside hunting moles and mice. Potatoe is snuggled up next to me. The setting as it is in the Storey home right now will be the “norm” in the not so distant future. The setting being that we are absent Brainy Bird.
Brainy Bird is at a friend’s house celebrating another friend’s birthday. He found it odd that the party is not at the birthday boy’s house. I find it endearing that the friends got together to throw a little party for their friend as opposed to the parents hosting the party. Their idea of throwing a party is asking every parent’s permission, and then getting together to buy a cake, which they will surprise the birthday boy with at some point tonight.
There is no question about it, Little Chirp and I missed Brainy Bird tonight. Little Chirp asked me three times when Brainy Bird would be home, and I finally told him that it would be late, and that he needed to find something to do tonight without Brainy Bird. I offered to play Yahtzee or watch a movie with Little Chirp, but he declined. This is eluding to the fact that we are going to have an extremely difficult transition when Brainy Bird goes away to college next year.
Funny, I just got up to check the location tracker on Brainy Bird’s phone to be sure he is at his friend’s house. I absolutely trust him, but I remember being a teenager. He is exactly where he is supposed to be. Technology has taken all the fun out of being an teenager.
Speaking of technology, the boys installed smart light bulbs in Little Chirp’s room yesterday. This automates Little Chirp’s lamp, which is built into his new nightstand, and the lights on his fan and in his closet. There is a running joke between me and Little Chirp’s dad that I have a better chance of teaching Potatoe to turn out the lights in Little Chirp’s room than I do of getting Little Chirp to do it. Now, I have Alexa. It is pretty neat how well the lights work. I also liked watching the boys work together to get everything set up.
Our next home automation project is going to be my room and the main living area. We are automating the whole house in iterations. The lights are set to arrive tomorrow from Amazon. The work to set up the automation is minimal. We are just breaking the cost out over time, and we are trying out different “smart” electrical switches, plugs and light bulbs, gaining and understanding of what works best where, instead of trying to buy everything all at once. Little Chirp is looking forward to being able to turn on all of the lights in the house with a single voice command. The kid that can’t turn off a light could turn on every light in the house at once, what could possibly go wrong?
Speaking of turning out the lights, I am about to turn out my light, and be off to sleep.
I am looking forward to tomorrow. The day will start super early, and I do not get to take off early as I had planned, but that is not going to stop it from being a fun day. I have several internal meetings, and two big client meetings in the morning, which I will be up early to prepare for. Then no matter how hectic work is, I am taking the boys for breakfast at Sizzle and Brew. Breakfast will actually be at noon. It will feel like breakfast to them as they will have started another day of summer break by sleeping in.
Little Chirp made me laugh when we were making our plans for tomorrow. I was telling the boys that they need to deep clean the kitchen, mop the whole house and clean the bathrooms today. Little Chirp didn’t blink an eye at all the chores, he just heard “deep clean the kitchen”. Yes! This means that the Storey family kitchen is closed tomorrow. Unlike past weeks where the kitchen was closed on a Friday, we actually get to go some where instead of picking something up and eating it at home. Little Chirp immediately said, “Can we go to Sizzle and Brew. That place is so good. I miss it!”
Of course, my response was a yes. Then he went into his pretend serious voice, “Wait, that is a brunch place, that means getting up early…hmmm…okay it IS worth it.”
I then explained that we can’t go until noon because I have to work. His response was again in his pretend serious voice, “Yeah, that means getting up around 11:30 AM on a summer break day, that is early.”
We are both looking forward to breakfast, lunch, brunch, whatever you want to call it at Sizzle and Brew tomorrow.
It is the little things in life…