Hanging Out

     I spent Wednesday afternoon with my niece and nephew hanging out at the pool at Meadow Lake. Hanging out, in my case, being an apt description. There was less Connie to contend with 10 years ago when I instituted the tradition of "Aunt Connie Day". At that time, my sister's family had just moved to Kalispell to start a business. It was the first time we had family nearby since early in our marriage.  Especially wonderful was that her children were toddlers while my own kids were teenagers, aka tall toddlers. I knew how to make preschoolers happy because I liked the same things they did. But teenagers? Even when they were happy, they refused to let it show, on principle.
     When Alex and Amanda were preschoolers, I would bring them home with me every Tuesday after Bible study, we would spend the afternoon having fun together, and their dad would pick them up on his way home from work. Once they were in school, we altered the schedule, I met them after school and we walked back to my house. Sometimes we would go to a matinee, sometimes, like last week, we went to the swimming pool. But there was also plenty of entertainment to be had closer to home, like our walks to the island or building forts in the living room. As they got older, we had to schedule Aunt Connie Day around piano lessons, dance and/or basketball. Now they are teenagers, with even more demands on their time and Aunt Connie Day has gone from a weekly tradition to an occasional suggestion.
     This year has been particularly difficult to schedule because I have had two knee surgeries followed by business travel with Reed. It is April and we just had our first Aunt Connie Day of the school year. Even though Alex is in the grip of growth spurt dementia and only dimly aware of his own existence, I think they both had a good time. I know I did. Someday they will have neither time for, nor interest in, Aunt Connie Day, but food and gravity are doing their best to make sure some part of me will always be there to hang out.