There are people all over this house. My parents� house is larger than mine but right now it does not feel like it. Everywhere one goes, one sees people or evidence people have just left. There are no people in "the dormitory" where the computer is but I see evidence of children and their stuff all over (and I literally mean all over.) We�ve packed them in tighter---unfortunately, neither my brother or my youngest sister are here---but still there are people all over.

Some people do well at communal living. I used to be one of them. As I�ve gotten older and crankier, I�ve gone down to being average at communal living. Some people, like Mr. Philately, are good sports. The man craves quiet corners and fewer bodies around but he�s cheerful about it. He accepts that there is no real getting away unless he wants to take a walk and even that is temporary.

Still, I love the confusion for short periods of time. Whatever the irritations of particular moments, I see more fun interactions than problematic ones. There has been remarkably little fighting---and what there has been seems to be between siblings. Living off far from family, I appreciate the sight of Day-Hay trying to teach Brother how to play a scale on the piano or Kat, Day-Hay, and Sister playing The Game of Life and chortling about how Sister first accidentally dropped her twins from her car and then ran over them. (Dark humor runs in this family.)

Yes, the school board election is tomorrow and, yes, I have work piling up on my desk back at the office but I�ve needed this time away badly. One never really runs from stresses and strains but replacing one�s ordinary frustrations with different ones can be therapeutic. I�m not sure I�m more relaxed but I�m differently relaxed.

Yesterday, I wondered what family was. Today I�ve decided that family is electricity. They may drain your battery or they may recharge it. What I�m sure of is that they are always good for a jolt.

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