Pretty good life

Maybe because I'd just woken up from a nap, but I was in the mood for pancakes or waffles for dinner on Saturday night.  I was in the kitchen, flipping through the cookbook.  "Pancakes or waffles?" I asked no one in particular.

Braeden's friend, Brian, was over.  He said, "It doesn't matter which one you make, as long as you have buttermilk syrup."

I looked at him to gauge his seriousness.  He seemed sincere.

"Buttermilk syrup?  Is that a thing?"

He assured me it was.

"How can you have buttermilk syrup?  I've never heard of it."

He said, "You make it."

"I don't believe you," I said.  So I Googled it.

And buttermilk syrup.  It's a thing.

I followed this recipe except I didn't have buttermilk so I mixed milk and vinegar instead.  Adam and I made a quadruple recipe of whole wheat pancakes (because teenage boys) and I'm now firmly in love with buttermilk syrup.  The stuff is amazing.

Brian told us that he has an aunt, the only person in his family that isn't rail thin, who insists they call her Fat Aunt Pam.  Fat Aunt Pam is the one that introduced Brian to buttermilk syrup.

(For the record, if any of my nieces or nephews call me Fat Aunt Thelma, I won't give you any buttermilk syrup.)

Buttermilk syrup, though.  I think it changed my life.

Brian's parents were out of town for the weekend so, along with Clarissa, he was over on Sunday too.  I was in and out, but the Seahawks game was on...for awhile.  They turned it off after the fourth interception.  It was too much agony.

We were upstairs and Adam went down eventually to check on the score.  We heard a strangled sound coming from him and Braeden bolted for the stairs.  The Seahawks were back in the game!  It was very intense and when the Seahawks won in overtime, I think Clarissa saw a new side of her Uncle Adam that she'd never seen before.

(I told Clarissa that believe it or not, Adam is the most calm one in his family.)

After the triumphant game, we played some games and Braeden and Emma and Clarissa and Brian sang together some.  (I told Braeden if he didn't want to sing when his friends visit he should invite less talented friends over.)  I loved hearing them.  The harmony!

Later in the evening, Adam and I were sitting together in the darkened living room, reflecting on the weekend.

"We have a pretty good life," Adam said.

And we do.  It's as imperfect as can be, but when the sun shines, that helps along our inept furnace. Our kids are healthy and happy.  We have good things to eat (still thinking about that syrup) and a football team to cheer for, and after inviting over a few key people, our home can be filled with beautiful music.

As lives go, it's pretty good.

Monday we had another fleet of boys over to play Diplomacy.  I also had them move furniture because I'm an opportunist.  I called down to the basement for a few strong boys and five ran up the stairs (Braeden was not one of them...not his first rodeo).  They made short work of moving a bookcase.  Later, I chided Braeden for not coming to help too.  He said, "Mom, one of them is a linebacker.  I figured I'd let him do it."

Which is true.  The linebacker was useful.

Here are a few goofy shots of a few goofy boys.

This is an Austrian military uniform from WWII that Brian found in a thrift store a few years ago.  He (naturally) wore it to our house for the big Diplomacy battle (yes, that's the hat tucked under his arm...he walked around like that all day too).  I laughed every time I saw him.  Clarissa marveled when she met Brian.  She wondered how Braeden could find a friend so like him, when Braeden is sort of one of a kind.

It's a good question.  I'm glad there are others in the world too though.