Aunt “A”.

Aunt “A” is leaving today – in about 30 minutes. Coffee is going to drive her to her next destination while he’s running some errands.

The boys are starting to get a little morose about it, in the way kids do, and I imagine we’re in store for a few days of “fall-out” as they readjust to a life where they can’t play xbox and watch movies all day and where no is amazed by everything they say and do.

(I remember that as being the best part of having guests when I was a kid. I mean, your parents have heard ALL of your jokes and they’ve seen ALL of your toys/art/handstands/books/pairs of socks, but the guest? Whoah, nelly. they’re PRIME!)

(I also remember how much it sucked when my parents would ‘save’ the other adult from my Barbie collection display and escort them to the living room to TALK. I always wondered why anyone would want to just sit and TALK when they could PLAY.)

We told the boys that we wouldn’t interfere in their visit with their Aunt – that they could decide how to spend the few days that she was here. And I let Aunt “A” know that her only job was to hang out with the boys – no helping in the kitchen or clearing plates or anything. She’s not here to see us!

Since Thursday, poor Aunt “A” has been dragged from xbox to television, forced to watch/play endless games and movies. Coffee and I have forced the boys to let her eat meals, of course, and we let her sleep in her own room instead of with Maymo (his plan was foiled!).

The funny thing is that, generally, the boys don’t get to spend all day and evening playing games or watching movies. We shove them outside to play, or sled, or hang out with friends. We prod them to play with games that don’t involve batteries or LCD screens. And we remind them of art supplies and books and Lego.

Perhaps that helps to explain why, every time a meal ends, one of them grabs her and drags her back into the room that smells of goat. It’s The Best Weekend Ever! Someone who’s totally focused on them AND a heap of electronic time AND no one telling them that they need to get some fresh air!

I am, under normal circumstances, a pretty bad hostess. I forget to offer drinks, I suck at planning “outings”, and I can be pretty awesomely neglectful of all sorts of “good hostess” tasks. I do wash the sheets on the bed and I do make sure the bathroom is clean, of course, but that’s just common sense.

When people arrive to stay, my first action is generally to show them around the place and point out where we keep everything – so that they can hunt it down when I inevitably neglect to offer it up.

I tell them to (please!) ask for anything they need, don’t be shy!, and yes, by all means dig around in the closet/medicine-cabinet if they need something. Ask a kid. Shout. Whatever it takes.

Until this afternoon, I totally forgot to take pictures for the boys and for Aunt “A”. I came downstairs to leave another comment for Sylvain (ha!) and saw my camera and thought, “Phew! She’s still here!” and then forced everyone to sit in awkward positions for a while.

What kind of a person forgets to take pictures of the kids with an aunt they haven’t seen in, literally, YEARS? Geeeez.

I’m fairly certain that Aunt “A” will never want to see another movie, television show or video game again – at least, not for a long while. But that’s how the boys wanted to bond with her, and I know that, sometimes, it’s easier to have a conversation when the focus isn’t on having a conversation.

And now they’re primed for a visit from Aunt “M” who’s arriving on Valentine’s Day. I hope she likes video games and movies…