Here is a completely startling statement: I don’t care for kids. I can deal with a wide variety of stresses in my life, but when I peruse that list I don’t see children on there. Fortunately, Takaza deals with them much better than I, which usually keeps my shortcomings as a nurturing adult hidden.

What causes this dramatic revelation is that we are visiting my parents’ house in Anderson, South Carolina this weekend. My sister and two nephews – Chris, age 7, and Tim, age 5 – are here as well. Now, let me preface this by saying that I love my family, and I even love my nephews. But that doesn’t mean that I always have to like them. Chris, in particular, is a bundle of energy, single-tracked in that way that only a seven-your-old can be. Tim is much quieter and charming, and comes up with the most amazing statements sometimes. Bless his heart, Dan has patience enough for both of us and can deal with them – me, my first response is to pretty much leave the area and not deal with them.

So, we got in yesterday just past 1 PM and had a late lunch of leftovers (but they were tasty leftovers, so that’s OK). After that it was few hours of lounging in the pool and savoring the respite from the fiercely hot weather that has plagued the area for the last few weeks. Of course, we figured it was just a few hours, no need for sunscreen. Well, on the bright side, Dan can now apply for theatrical roles as Lobster Man, and I can be his understudy 🙂 After some more lounging about some more, we went to work on dinner: grilled boneless leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, oven roasted onions, and a tasty salad with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese in a balsamic vinaigrette, all served with a delicious Australian shiraz/cab/merlot blend called “Sarah’s Blend”. You know, just sort of scraping together whatever’s lying around…

So this morning it’s been an exercise in keeping the kids quiet (aka an exercise in futility) while everyone was slowly waking up. Mom and I went to the store so they could pick up their Sunday New York Times, plus fixings for a nice brunch of bacon and eggs, and while we were out apparently Chris woke Dan up several times to ask if he could play games on his computer. Given that Dan isn’t a morning person (to say the least), he’s not particularly in a happy mood right now and I can’t blame him one bit. But Mom is cooking up the bacon and it smells delicious. I suspect everyone will be feeling better once we get some food in us.