#kidcation (and New Year's)

#kidcation eats: (L-R) Dusmesh, Q'Barbeque, and Pies & Pints

Ashley’s parents took the girls with them to Lexington for a couple days, giving Ashley and me some much-needed alone time. A “kidcation,” if you will (sure, I will). On Christmas night we endured an hour wait at Dragon City for a pick-up order (I couldn’t be mad; nothing else was open), and we rounded out the night burning sage and watching all three The Santa Clause movies. That night I dreamed I was Santa Claus and Zoey was my elven helper; she kept knocking over milk glasses that kids had left, and it was really starting to irritate me. I told Ashley about the dream, and she said, “That’s probably why you were moaning so much. Your moans sounded pissed.”

Ashley and I ran down to the office so I could turn in timesheets, and then we grabbed lunch at the Dusmesh Indian buffet outside Cincy State. We hadn’t been there since we got married (I think), and it stirred up lots of great memories from the last six years. We headed to Microcenter to look at new computers, and I settled on a Windows 10 HP Desktop with an i7 processor (though I ordered it rather than bought it from the store, because it’s cheaper that way). We swung by Midpointe Library on the way home, and we snuggled in bed and watched The Good Doctor before heading back into Cincinnati for an evening at Winton Ridge. We witnessed a police chase at the King’s Run Minimart, and it was great seeing John and Brandy—and especially Amos. I hadn’t seen him for over a year. We played Foozball, laughed a lot, and caught up on all the things that have changed (or stayed the same) in our lives. John and Brandy abandoned their place in Louisville and are back at the farmhouse long-term (John quit his job at Holsopple because of the work environment); Aaron moved out; and it looks like Frank and his new girlfriend Beth might be taking Aaron’s spot. John made a steak dinner with homemade mashed potatoes and we watched BBC’s Hidden Kingdoms.

On Wednesday we had a Mediterranean dinner at Q’Barbeque, and Ashley’s Christmas gift to me arrived: my new computer! I set it up, and it runs fast. Best of all, it can run my Total War games. Even Empire and Shogun 2 run well. It’ll be perfect for school, and I’m giving my Dell netbook to Chloe for her school and stories. Ashley and I burned sage and binge-watched The West Wing. It’s our cold winter night go-to. Bartlet would’ve crushed Trump.

On Thursday we dad dinner with Tyler & Julia (and 2.5 year old Luna!) at Pies & Pints at Liberty Center. I had pork nachos and two helpings of Rhinegeist Shuffle. Julia’s pregnant with another child, a boy this time! We had a great time. Tyler really likes Ashley, and we all want to get together with the girls here soon. Zoey would play great with Luna. Ashley and Julia shared some comraderie with in-laws issues. It’s nice to know marriage drama is normal.

The girls returned over the weekend, and on Sunday we missed church despite being ready: we got another round of snow that covered the roads, and record told temperatures made it almost impossible to scrape the ice off the van. My hands nearly fell off from numbness, and we drove around downtown to try and warm up. Not until we were on 71N did I start to regain feeling in my toes. We grabbed lunch at Skyline Chili in Blue Ash, and when we got home we made the girls rest and took a nap before spending the evening celebrating New Year’s with contingents of Ashley’s family. Her dad made hand-rolled sushi and deep fried egg rolls, and I provided some Italian bread to go along with the brie cheese. Zoey tried to stay up till midnight but couldn’t make it past 9PM, Keith got drunk and was passed out by 10PM, and Chloe had a blast staying up with the adults and writing stories on my old netbook. Come midnight we drank some champagne (Chloe got grape juice and pretended it was making her loopy) and rang a cowbell and shot off confetti poppers outside.

I fell asleep praising God for 2017. It truly was a year marked by God’s provisions, a slew of answered prayers, and undeniable “acts of God” that I’ll never forget.