I just dropped off Rose at my parents' house to leave for her trip to England, Wales, and Ireland tomorrow. She'll be leaving from Charlotte and flying to Orlando, and then to London. They'll be touring London for several days and then taking a tour of the Southeast and circling around for a tour of the West Country. They'll be visiting cousins of my dad's side of the family in Wales and then fly to Dublin. They'll be in Ireland for about three or four days and then fly back to London. God willing they'll be back on the 11th.
Poor Margaret was inconsolable as Rose and I were trying to leave. I don't think she's cried like that since early this morning. So if Rose needed proof of Margaret's genuine despair and desolation at having to say goodbye, she got it.
My goal is to get Rose's lime green room painted before she gets back. The original paint job was done when Margaret was a baby, so I had a lot more time than I do now. Rose liked the color of her room for almost six months, and has been politely talking of getting it re-painted for the past five years.
For Rose's birthday she was given new, more grown-up, furniture, and a lovely maroon and gold brocaded bedspread with shams, throw pillows and a bolster. The lime green doesn't work anymore, needless to say.
I insisted that before we let Rose leave, we all go outside after supper to play as a family for a little while. We got the 3' beach ball out and played a very liberal game of soccer with no goals, no points, and no rules. The kids did want to break up into teams, however. Mark, Rose, Ella, and LMark were the "Mexicans" (so named by Ella) because of their darker complexions and hair. Max, Margaret and I were the "Angles" because of our lighter hair and complexions. Midway into the game Margaret cried out "I want to be a Mexican!!" at which point they welcomed her with open arms. Max and I were out-numbered so we just out-manoeuvred them with our quick wit and light complexions. Since there were no rules or points, they could each run around, fall down, tackle, and holler at each other for twenty minutes and walk away thinking they had won the game. It was fun.
