Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
I had never guessed that Duncan was a bit spooky. Sam was intense when angered, all thunder and lightning. Dane was icy in his disregard. I thought Duncan was completely easygoing because Aaron was so type A. That Duncan had to be steady to balance him out. But not so much. I was suddenly glad that Commander Stiel and I were friends.
Finn rode the swing, and then, surprisingly, Anne did. She had a bit of trouble getting down, and Sam was there, lifting her easily from above his head and then slowly to the ground. His smile was kind, and I could tell she was a goner. Eammon came right over and reclaimed his wife from my dashing husband.
It really was a lovely day.
That’s all, everyone. Have a wonderful rest of your May, and I’ll be back in June to tell you all about Father’s Day.
JUNE 2024
Hello, all. Welcome to He Said, he said for June 2024.
First off, happy Pride month. I hope everyone is feeling both loved and supported. I remember years ago when I had to explain to my kids about my experiences growing up and they were both so surprised and gave me lots of hugs. When I told them that their father and I were getting married, I explained that it had passed in all of the US, so we could now have a ceremony in our backyard, even though we’d been married years earlier. They were stunned to hear that as well. Now, with the state of things in the country, there are new challenges to meet, and both of them are ready to step up and vote and march and do whatever is necessary for the rights of everyone. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve done much with my life, but when I look at my kids and their attitudes about things and their belief in equality, inclusion, and that everyone deserves a voice, I feel much better. Putting good out into the world is something I can be proud of.
So I’ll have to fill you in on Father’s Day next time, as it’s tomorrow and I need to send this out. I do wish all the fathers out there a wonderful day, and I mean all, in every capacity and to all the kids and creatures that you parent. I have no idea what my kids have planned, but I suspect it will be a bit of a low-key celebration this year, as we are all feeling extra grateful after our surprise visit.
When Sam and I adopted first Kola and then Hannah, whatever the person in charge of the adoption suggested at that time was what we did. For instance, with Kola, the agency, based in Rotterdam, said that an open adoption was customary. With Hannah, the opposite was true, there in Montevideo. Over the years I have asked both if they wanted to take one of those DNA tests and find their people, or I could contact either place and see what records I could acquire. For her part, Hannah has been of the mindset that maybe, someday, she would. As she’s said on a number of occasions, she’s certain that the reasoning for giving her up was sound, but she wasn’t all that interested in hearing the why. Plus, what would that give her? She wasn’t a child anymore, these days they could test her for genetic disease, and having more than a long-distance relationship was not in the cards. She had a plan for her life, she had her family, the person she loved, so…what was the point?
“Just to know,” I told her the last time we talked about it. “That might be good.”
She shrugged. “If I really want to know, I can have Uncle Aaron put detectives from the company on it or, you know, I could just ask George to find out.”
“Or I could just call the agency.”
“I’d rather have no formal inquiries made. Uncle Aaron would ensure that there was no trail to lead back to me.”
“I’m sorry, are you a spy? Is there a reason that would be bad?”
“Uncle Aaron says it’s best that people don’t know your business.”
I shook my head at her.
“What?”
“I think you’re spending too much time with him.”
She shrugged. “Fine. If I ever decide to look into it, I’ll ask you.”
“Good.”
Her face lit up then. “Is there any possible way that I can talk you into showing me how to make lasagna again?”
“What?” I was horrified. We’d tried six times, and I had no idea what she did, but somehow or other she jacked up either the cook time, missed an ingredient, or the great debacle of 2023, put in too many layers. It nearly destroyed one of our ovens. “Why?”
“You’re whining, are you aware?”
I might have whimpered just a bit.
“Come on,” she insisted. “You’re gonna be dead someday, and I should know how to make it in your memory.”