We have been back in Ohio for a couple of weeks now and are getting caught up with family and friends.  We are camping near my parents and it is really nice to be so close to them.  We see them three to four times a week which is the most time I have spent with them since I was a teenager living at home.  We have also spent a few days with John and Jackie, although they are much busier than us older, retired folks.

We are spending time helping out around the house – John and Jackie’s and Mom and Dad’s.  When you live in a house, there are always plenty of projects.  Tom and John took out a basketball post embedded in concrete and put in another flower box.  Jackie and I planted some arborvitae long the back of their yard.  They will eventually block the view to the street.  Right now both of their dogs bark like crazy whenever someone walks by.  So in ten years or so, when the arborvitae get big enough, the dogs won’t bark as much.

At Mom and Dad’s we helped trim trees at a neighbor’s.  She is handicapped and unable to take care of her yard like she wants, so Tom cut the limbs and the rest of us dragged them to the front of the house to be picked up by the village.  With the trees trimmed, Dad can cut her grass while he is out cutting his own lawn.  Mom and I planted some flowers and transplanted some ferns, and Tom helped Dad repair a concrete patch.

Tom and I have been riding the Richland Baltimore and Ohio Bike Trail.  It is a good way to get to Mom and Dad’s and the scenery is very nice.  We survived spring in South Carolina (allergies) only to go through it all again in Ohio.  Will we face a third spring (with allergies) when we head to Minnesota next week?  The leaves are coming out and the dogwood has just finished blooming.

It has been a little cold back in Ohio.  Yesterday it snowed and there has been frost on the grass in the morning.  Considering Ohio had the warmest winter on record, spring is definitely taking its time coming.

The best part of being back in Ohio is shared meals and game times.  Whether we are eating out with friends, having lunch at Mom and Dad’s, or enjoying hamburgers grilled by John – time to sit and talk and laugh together is wonderful.  We have also been playing as many games as we can:  euchre, Farkle, Walking Dead Risk, Sushi-go, and dominoes.  When Hartleys and Clymers are gathered, there will be food and games!

What do you like to do with your family?  Do you see them enough, rarely, or too much?