"Please, don't," he laughed, shaking his head, "because that's banking a lot on me being prepared enough for the both of us." And although Josh was pretty good at always having and doing what he needed to do, there was no guarantee that it would be to the same level that his girlfriend was capable of, that was for sure. Stepping up onto the dock, Josh made his way out to where the boat was waiting, having already headed out early that day to get everything where it needed to be. Setting the bag that he had taken from her down, he held out his hand for the next, and then for her, although he knew that she knew her way around a boat. "Should be perfect weather for the day, too."

"One of these days, I am going to not overly prepare for once in my life," she laughed softly, knowing full well that her threats were empty. It was a rarity that Espie didn't make sure to be prepared, if not overly prepared. It certainly came in handy in terms of her family, but it was more of a personality trait in the need to not be unprepared. Always one to be independent, it took her a moment to relent, handing one of the bags over to Josh to carry. She followed closely behind Josh as the pair made their way up toward the lake, ready for a boating day.

"Did she bake you an entire cake?" Josh asked, raising both of his brows, clearly impressed with Chetan's mother's ability to spoil her son rotten. In the best of ways. "It does, but that's okay, that just means you can make all sorts of friends out of people who forgot to pack their picnic baskets," he grinned. And given that people were busy, maybe not great at picking out foods, he was sure that there were more than a few that would take advantage. "I think so," he nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "partner, kids, better have a golden retriever, too. Give me one of those sandwiches."

"Sandwiches, some little salad thing, samosas, fruit salad, and some cake." HE shook his head. "Which sounds like a picnic for a family of four." He held out one of the tupperware containers she'd lovingly packed. "What does that mean psychologically? Does she expect me to adopt a family today?"

We'll have to do a food swap, I'll make you something, you make me something! Since I'm sure you're pretty handy in the kitchen with some of your favorite meals, too. And I'm always down to try someone else's comfort meals. Bit by bit, right? I bet that you could still handle more spice than a lot of people do, though, so that's something to be proud of. Oh, definitely, a lot better than having a little one who doesn't seem to want to be in the sun. And now she gets to experience her first earth week, too.

That just means I will have to give them a try! I’d love to taste anything you have to offer, then. It’s taken a bit of time, but eventually I’m hoping I can eat more spicy things! I agree, spend some time outside and help out while the sun is out? Sounds perfect to me. She loves being outdoors, which is lucky for me as well. So it means I get to have a little adventure.

I think if I were a parent, that's how I would feel, too. It's different than living in a big city, where you probably don't know your next door neighbor, let alone the entire block of people that you live nearby. But here, you always know someone who knows someone, and also… we have really nosy older people -- what trouble could kids get into that they aren't already scoping out and reporting back to their parents on, right? I'm sure that it does. Like one moment you're thinking that you're on top of the game as far as parenting goes, and the next… a wrench gets thrown into your plans.

It does, and here in town everyone’s been great. It’s not that I don’t have to pay attention to where she goes and what she does, of course I do. But I trust a lot of people around here in town, because it’s such a great place and everyone knows everyone. So I’m not too worried when she tells me she’s going to a friend’s house. Oh my goodness, yeah, we can definitely skip over those. I don’t think I’ll be ready for those for a while. That’s the goal. And everything seems to come in waves.

"I had the very brief thought of making snacks, but then realized… not necessary," he laughed, because Espie was always on top of those sorts of things. Sure, he could say that it was the mother in her, always wanting to make sure that people were taken care of, but he also suspected that it was just the kind, loving sort of person that she was; that he would be treated to boat snacks even if she didn't have a mother's mindset. Waiting as she made her way to the car, he watched her move, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips before nodding his head, holding his arm out to take one of the bags, not wanting her to overdo it, even if he knew she could handle it. Then with the snacks taken care of, and the fishing equipment already waiting at the dock, he set off, making his way down the small hill towards the lake.

Espie pulled away from the kiss with a grin, laughing softly as she explained, "I couldn't help myself!" Whether planned or not, Espie was never one to be unprepared. At Josh's mention that his fishing gear was ready to go as well, she nodded with a smile, "perfect!" Whether they ended up fishing or not, the more of an excuse to be on the lake, the better. As they headed outside, Espie led the way out the door. She looped around to the Explorer parked right out front, retrieving both her beach tote back and the cooler bag of food out from the passenger's seat. "Ready to go!" she declared, one bag over each shoulder, prepared to head out toward the dock.

APRIL 21 - 27

What is one thing that you try to do regularly to help support planet earth?

I'm big on composting, and using reusable or biodegradable things. I have a compost pile out back, use a lot of it to fertilize my garden when I'm able, and I pack lunches in those biodegradable containers, or try not to buy a lot of plastic when I'm at the grocery store. Every little bit helps, in the long run.

"I took an oath," he replied on a heavy sigh, as though carrying the world's burden on his back. But it did pay to know who they were, Josh was sure that most local Merrockites with a good reputation in town had gotten out of a ticket now and then. Especially if they had long ties in town. "What's the most creative you've ever had to get with a food?" he asked, genuinely curious, "or have you ever had to just start basically giving it away to make sure that it didn't go bad?"

"Probably scared shitless you're spill the secrets, even if you'd never," she teased, knowing full well that wouldn't even cross his mind. She was more impressed that cops were even going to therapy. "Oh, absolutely and you have to get creative if you don't want to be selling it at a loss, but sometimes you have to just take that loss and try again with something else."

"Should be careful putting that into the universe, I guess," Josh shot Elliot a look as he signed, doing his best to hide his smile, "the moment we get our hopes up, we'll drop below freezing again," and Josh did not want that. He didn't encessarily expect it to be summer automatically, liked the slow and steady climb to get there, but he definitely didn't want things to back slide back to the cold months, either. And given that they lived in Merrock, where the weather liked to swing wildly from one to the next… well, better safe than sorry. "I'm sure of it," he signed back with a smile, "probably a little bigger every day?" It seemed like with kids, that was how it went. One day, they were a baby, and the next, a full-grown child, ready to take on the world. "Have to start chasing her around the house?" he signed, raising a brow. He couldn't even imagine, having to baby proof everything as he went, wanting to make sure that Sawyer didn't hurt herself, or get into any kind of trouble. "Thank you!" he signed back with a wide smile. "I brushed up on it a lot over the winter."

"Glad you have been doing good!" Elliot replied back, pleasantly surprised with how good Josh's signing looked these days. It was always so nice to be able to communicate like this with his friends, not having to worry about typing on his phone or trying to lipread the best that could in a conversation. "I bet, seems like the weather is finally getting nice again." Still making sure to keep his signs slow and clear for his friend. "I'm good! Busy and tired but good. She's doing great, growing too fast." Unable to wrap his head around the fact that in a few months, she would be a year old. "She's starting to crawl so that's been a whole ordeal." One that he wasn't exactly ready or prepared for but at the same time, loved to see her growing into her own little person. "Your singing looks really good by the way." He added a few seconds later, grinning even more.

This was probably Josh's third picnic of the day... and he wasn't complaining. At least this time around, he could just relax, unwind, not have to worry about corralling any children at the park -- he just needed to kick back and eat something. Although that part was made a little easier when he heard an offer from someone lounging on a blanket, letting out a laugh as he shook out his own and dropped down to sit. "What did she make? Anything good? Or is that a silly question?"

Who: Chetan @ open When: April 23rd, Picnic Day

Che felt a bit like the kids running around the park, given that his mom had prepared his lunch for him that day. At least she offered and he didn't ask, that would have been beyond juvenile. Instead of eating, he took a few moments to lay back, soaking up the nature as he laid on the blanket he'd set out. Lost in thought for a moment, he caught sight of a familiar face, giving a wave. "My mom gave me way too much food, you have to come help me eat this."

Once the warm weather really settled in, it was hard to get Josh off of the lake, truth be told. He spent as much time as possible on his boat, or out on the dock, fishing, or even just walking around the path that winded through forest and fields, following the edge of the water. And kicking it off today was right up his alley. "Knew I could count on you," he laughed softly, leaning in to brush his lips against hers before righting himself. "I have some fishing gear, too," he wasn't sure if they would fish so much as just enjoy being out on the boat, but… it was nice to have the option there, just in case. "Let's head out."

Spotting Josh's head peak out of the bedroom door, Espie headed in that direction. She stood back by the doorway, smiling back at Josh as he finished getting dressed, only to turn right back around to head out toward the living room alongside him. "First lake day of the season, I'm ready!" she laughed quietly. After weeks of praying for the weather to warm up enough, she was clearly excited for the day. "I wasn't sure on bringing anything with me but I did, so the cooler bag and my bag are in the car. I'll grab them when we go back out," she gestured generally toward the door.

LOOK-ALIKE DAY; april 20, 2024.

The Center had kept Josh busy, to the point where a break was needed, away from planting in the garden, or supervising tree distribution, or helping out with taking in donations… on top of his regular appointments and the long hours at the garage. And the best way to do that? A boat. An even better way to do it? A boat with Espie. He heard her call from the doorway, poking his head out of the bedroom with a grin. "Morning, beautiful. Just give me one second and we can head out," he turned to grab his shirt off of the edge of the bed, pulling it over his head and heading into the living room, smoothing a hand back through his hair. "All set? I'm excited."

where: Boating Day on Lake Mallory when: Earth Week - April 2024 who: Espie & @joshlane

Espie was incredibly excited about the opportunity to spend the day out on the lake, even more to spend that time with Josh. The first boating day of the season always marked a time of joy for someone like Espie, who spent all the time she could outdoors as the weather warmed up. Looking forward to all the day had to offer, she pulled up to Josh's house ready to go for the day. "Good morning!" she called out, stepping into the house, looking around for her boyfriend.

That sort of makes the whole 'it takes a village' phrase all the more real, doesn't it? Knowing that she really does have a huge village of people surrounding her who care about her and want to do everything that they can to try to make her life a little easier. And yours, too! Absolutely helps when they have each other as friends, and you guys do, too, as parents. There are! Although I feel like you hear more horror stories about them than you do good news? So I think I'll skip those kinds of cars. You'll figure it out. Take one 'parent of a teenager' hurdle at a time, right?

And I’m grateful for that! It makes a world of a difference. Her friends are super supportive, they’ve all become fluent in signing. Even their parents too. I know I can count on Cage as well, since Lily is close to Colton. The tech is a big step forward and I’m glad it exists! And then there are those self-driving cars now, right? The fear of missing out thing yeah, I see that as well. But the plus side of all that is that Lily is pretty independent. But at the same time, she is social. So when that day comes… I’ll figure it out.

I can make decent dumplings! I'll have to see what I can do about making some spicy ones, maybe we can find a way to make that happen for you. You're slowly building your tolerance back up again, look at you go! Next thing you know, you'll be refusing to eat anything but spicy food, actually. It's a nice time of year for it, going through the woods, walking around the lake, you get to see some flowers and plants that we haven't seen for what feels like a life time. Good! I'm sure that's a nice bonding time.

Yes, please. And if that includes noodles or dumplings of any kind… yummy. Hahaha, you’re amazing! I did end up eating some kimchi rice the other night and I was fine, so I think I’m getting there again. I don’t want to eat too much of it just yet though, but it made me happy. Aww, nice! I’m sure that’s even better with the pretty weather we are bound to get. We have. Every other day if not every day, if we can.

Can you imagine my dad if I told him that I was bailing on him in the shop for half of the winter? I'm pretty sure he would disown me… take my name right off the business papers! No, he wouldn't dare. But I'm hoping that the week ahead is pretty warm and sunny, it'll make getting out and doing earthly things that much more fun, you know? Less of a hassle to bundle up.

Do not tempt me, I will find a way to get us out of here for at least a part of next winter if I have to. We are going to enjoy the warmer weather! I am determined! I think we had a pretty great weekend, personally! But, your birthday, not mine, I hope you enjoyed it all!

I feel like it's baby steps, you know? Which might be for the best! If it just suddenly got hot overnight, and the sun was out every single day, I don't think we would really appreciate it the way that we should. Hopefully things will warm up and be sunny this next week, so we can all be outside as much as possible, you know? I don't want to spend Earth Week stuck in the house! Are they still popular? I think some people who thought they could live that lifestyle have probably decided by now that they can't and have moved on to other homes. For better or for worse. Friday sounds great for me, I'll see you tomorrow!

That much is true. We’ll get there eventually. It didn’t get too bad this weekend. I’m happy about that. And also it means that when we try to work on our gardens, it would be nice enough right? Mhmm. Oh yes, those tiny homes were all the rage, it’s what everyone wanted because it meant less space to take care of but enough to live in. Most people just want a small space if they don’t really intend to have a lot of people around all the time. I even looked into it at some point. But now with a dog, I need more space. I’ll let you know! How does Friday sound?

"I'm sure that you get some looks once you tell them where you're from," he laughed, nodding his head. Although it would maybe help them understand where he was coming from, why he liked things the way that he did; he was used to warm weather, used to living on a different coast. It was a whole 'nother world out in Maine, compared to what Sam was used to, and that was alright. Josh brought his hand up to tap gently on the side of his own head, letting out a laugh. "I always do, don't worry." No matter how much of a badass he might have thought he was when he headed out on his bike, he was never enough of a badass to not put safety first. Josh couldn't even imagine going about it from that side: trying to get kids to listen to you when you were a first responder, when you were trying to teach them lessons. Kids… didn't really like to listen all that much, he could admit. "You'll be good back-up, I have a feeling," although the words left his mouth and then caused him to spin to see who Sam was talking about, letting out a loud laugh when he realized what was happening. "Go, go," he nodded eagerly, stepping to the side to block Sam from view of the person he was talking about, and allowing him a getaway. "I'll catch you later!"

Sam nodded. "No one can use the argument 'you'll never know until you try' once I did it. Though some others might just go 'right…' once I told them I'm from San Francisco." Sunshine, warm weather and warm water were more his preference than everything Maine had been throwing at him. "Oh, yeah, helmets, definitely. It's a very important safety equipment. Please do use the latest ones," he gave a small grin, nodding. And his nods were even more serious than the one he did earlier. He seriously needed to stop thinking like a medic all the time. He then let out a tiny sigh as he thought about a few of the calls he had that involved teenagers. "Yeah. And they won't listen even though most of the time the things I told them while treating them is just how to avoid getting hurt." He never knew what to expect anytime he responded to a call involving kids. "I'll leave that to you then. I'll just be a support and back-up," he said with a chuckle then gave a slight panicked look as he saw someone. "I need a favor. Make excuses for me? I've just met that person for the first time a little while ago and I might have accidentally said I'd dance with them later. I was trying to politely refuse!" he quickly added the last bit as an explanation. "I'm gonna go find a spot where they can't see me."