The youngest one in curls

Last week, I tossed a bag of clothes into the car and drove east to visit one of my favorite families: the Scribblers! Phantom Scribbler and I met through our blogs nine years ago, and we keep in touch online, but I’ve long since figured out that a real life visit is worth a 1000 emails.

Lucky for me, Phantom Scribbler is a big respectful of traditions. As I walked into the house, I was greeted with the smell of vegan chocolate cupcakes. I think she’s made them every single time I visited, mostly because I remind her of the tradition in every email I send ahead of time. Within minutes, I was sitting at her kitchen table, drinking tea and eating a cupcake, while her kids chatted to me about their homework, by which I mean that I mocked the worksheets that their teachers had given them.

The next morning, when the kids left for school and her husband left for work, we did what we do best — we sat and talked. It was a rainy day, chilly for the end of May, but we didn’t let that bother us. Phantom made delicious lentil soup, and I ate bowl after bowl along with homemade bread and more chocolate cupcakes. The next day, the sun came out, and it finally felt like summer. We took a long walk around a pond and through a cemetery, talking the whole time of course. I didn’t carry my camera, but I snapped a picture with my phone.

One of my traditions with the Scribbler family is to watch an episode of the Brady Brunch each evening. This year, we made an exciting discovery: two of the episodes offered the option of “commentary” from the grown-up actors who played Cindy, Peter, and Greg. What was especially wonderful is that the actors were even snarkier than we were, commenting on Mrs. Brady’s wig and mocking some of the most ridiculous scenes, much the way my own kids mock the family videos made when they were young.

It was a lovely visit. Phantom’s kids are still young enough to be kids, even if they are some of the smartest and adult-like kids I’ve ever met. They entertained me while Phantom Scribbler kept cooking more delicious food, and I kept threatening just to stay and live with them. Eventually, though, I ate the last chocolate cupcake, finished the last bowl of soup, and got in the car to drive home.