Maia and I wake up early to finish a few things while Tami sleeps the following day. While I’d love to go outside for a jog – it’s way too hot, so I run on the treadmill in my office instead. Maia, however, braves the heat and goes outside to begin planting flowers for a…
Although the contents of my stomach threaten to appear several times, I manage to hold it down and finish changing the diaper. Now that Tami is all dressed and ready for bed, the second battle begins – calming her down for her nap. As soon as we approach the crib, the tears start. But the…
Tambara sleeps through the night for the first time, but it comes at a cost – a dirty, smelly, diaper-bursting currency that seeps down her leg and all over Maia. It’s safe to say both of them need a bath. Although I know perfectly well what’s happening, I remain in bed with my eyes tightly…
Walking around our new home in this new town feels strange, like I’ve encroached on someone else’s reality. I grab something to eat from the refrigerator and sit at the kitchen table, with the unease of someone who has broken into someone else’s house. I know we belong here, but it’s so different from where…
Maia loves how inviting the living room is, with its many cozy spots where she can sit and read while still near Tambara. The plants and large picture window accomplishes the designer’s goal of bringing the outside in. This is easily one of Maia’s favorite rooms. She grabs her fabrication skill book and brushes up…
It’s finally moving day, but not just for us – also for my little brother Dray. He and my parents arrive first thing in the morning with his stuff because he’s moving in here as Maia and I are moving out. Ma greets me with a big hug, and then… Melisa: Do you have to…
Clyde is up early to say goodbye to Tambara before returning to San Sequoia on a train. It’s not a long goodbye, though, because Maia and I are now official owners of a home in the Anchor Point section of San Sequoia, and we will be moving tomorrow. Maia showed me what the interior designer…
While Dub is in Oasis Springs with Dwight, Maia starts chatting with the interior designer about the new house. They review some of Maia and Dub’s favorite colors and discuss a theme that involves bringing the outside in with nature-inspired colors and an array of house plants. The more they chat, the more excited Maia…
Dwight contacts me again, informing me that he can come and pick me up in about an hour. That gives me time to devise a good reason to disappear for a few hours. I don’t want Maia to know that I’m going out in search of a gem for an engagement ring, but I also…
It’s 3 in the morning, and I wake up to a smell that sends me back to the cow shed that I used to shovel out as a teen on my parent’s farm. I get out of bed and look around to find the source. Wade: *to himself* Oh, My Watcher! What is that? I…
