'bout the Beers' Bunch!

Welcome Weary Traveler,

You've checked your email, your facebook, observed how the bidding is going over at ebay, and now you are attempting to work your way through the bloglist before life once again demands your attention. You'll never take it all in. So come, step off the information highway and rest here a while.

Oh. Wait. Before you settle down I ought to explain that if you came here expecting to see the beautiful photography of Melissa, you should look through the archives. Because today my friend, this blog has been hijacked. Well, now that you've come to terms with your favorite blog being held hostage, by all means, continue relaxing.

Over a week ago, I packed my bag, forced the zipper to submit to my will and close, ran around the house muttering "passport, passport - where is my passport?!", shouted "aha!" upon finding said passport, and eventually set off for the airport. My destination? Scotland. I was going to see my sister and her family - the Beers' clan. The clan consists of my lovely sister Alison, my brother-in-law Gavin, the twins - Isaac and Caleb (7), Nathanael (6), Benaiah (4) and my only niece thus far, Aletheia (2). Allow me to give you a little background on them all.

Alison. When she was 8 years old, Alison got a little sister (that would be me). Being quite a girly 8 year old she was thrilled at the thought of having a baby to play with. Unfortunately four years later that baby was increasingly bratty and loved nothing more than poking through her big sister's things and generally annoying her. Ten years and one attempted murder later, Alison had had enough, and in order to escape her sister married the man who made her heart throb - Gavin.

Gavin. Gavin is a decisive man, and when he met Alison he realised that she was the loveliest woman he had ever met and he wanted to marry her. That this decision was not retracted upon meeting me at 10 years old is a testimony to his strength of character and Alison's loveliness.


The kids. They're brilliant, and I love watching them grow up, seeing their crazes and being part of their games. The boys love to read and often whatever they're reading or having read to them becomes the focus of their games, so over the years I have been ordered to play Marianne (from Robin Hood), Stonewall Jackson's Wife, and various female characters from Lord of the Rings. On the latest visit the twins had been reading 'Remember the Alamo', Davey Crockett is the hero of the hour. I was Polly Crockett. When Nathanael informed me of this I asked what she was like, and did I have to do anything in particular. He replied that I had to be a good wife and then die. Charming.

When staying with the Beers' clan I sleep in my niece's room, and a typical morning tends to go something like this. I wake up, aware of conversation outside the door. I pull the covers higher and hope it goes away. It does not go away, and words like 'scare', 'jump' and 'tickle' are occurring with worrying frequency. The door handle is slowly pushed down, and as I lie there watching it, I realise that there is no escape from what comes next. Four boys come flying into the room with yells, one starts tickling my feet, another one bounces on me, and two of them struggle to get the best spot under the covers. This procedure is quickly followed up by the question "Did we scare you?" - normally asked by one of the older boys, because to their mind nothing is funnier than scaring your auntie. Why? Because Uncle Geoff does it. During this wake-up call Aletheia will make her way over to my bed, teddy in hand, and climb in beside me. Any brothers who get in her way will be sat upon and scolded until they concede the space to her. Aletheia has also been known to order her brothers to be quiet and go away. I'm convinced that it's a girl thing.


Normally when I'm with the kids, we get to have a fun night. A night when parents are out and we can play. Fun nights involve games, stories, shadow puppets and chocolate will probably feature somewhere. By now they have favourite games so there are requests to be dealt with - and if they can be taught a new game, it's always good. Last time I taught them 'Murder, Wink' - you know, where the murderer kills by winking and the detective tries to figure out who it is? Well, wee Benaiah was desperate to be the murderer and I decided it was only fair that he should get a go. His brother Nathanael was outside the room, waiting to be called in. I opened the door and the moment Nathanael entered the room Benaiah, presumably overwhelmed with excitement, declared "It's me! It's me! I'm IT this time!". Later in the game, he grasped the importance of secrecy and did very well. At another stage, Isaac who had been winking at Nathanael for sometime without producing a death, exclaimed with frustration "I WINKED at you - you have to die!!" It was their first time playing it...


But now it is time to go about your business. My tea is cold. I can tell you nothing amusing or witty with cold tea, staying any longer would be a waste of both our lives. So go, get back to your to-do list. But come back tomorrow with a cup of tea and a biccie - Melissa will have something great for you.*

*Melissa - make sure you have something great for tomorrow. No pressure.

The End.




(Note from Melissa: for those of you who don't know. Rachel is my sister in law.)