It’s been rather busy around here the last few days.

On March 28, spring invaded our humble abode in the form of two energetic short people. 

This visit was sort of an extension of the time we spent in Minnesota just a month ago, when I reported to the Mayo Clinic so the neurosurgeon who operated on me could once again admire his handiwork.  He told me I could send him some X-rays taken here in Powell instead of traveling all the way to Minnesota, but doing that would have robbed us of some valuable grandma and grandpa time. So, once again, we trusted Delta Airlines with our lives and braved the security lines to spend that time.

We didn’t know at that time that we would have more contact this week, but our daughter and her husband had planned to come for Christmas, which didn’t work out, so instead of spending their spring break at a nice sunny beach somewhere, they decided to come to Powell.

The result is that we have had a whole week of extra sunshine at our house. Grandma enjoyed some extra help in the kitchen on several occasions,  which 5-year old Arun — pronounced  uh-ROON, if you want to get his attention — said was the best part of the trip, leaving his mom to wonder why she doesn’t get that sort of help at home.

Another feature of the visit is that we spent quite a bit of time listening to Arun reading. He’s pretty good at it and he’s not bashful about showing off his skill, so if you’ve been within a block of our house at certain times of the day, you might have heard him. And if you haven’t heard him reading, you might have caught his singing, which he also does at a pretty high volume.

A happy morning was spent at the aquatic center, where 7-year-old Mattea managed to make several trips across the rope bridge with minimal help and without falling in the water, a feat which demonstrated strength she has developed at gymnastics lessons. Although she can’t swim yet, it looks as though a few lessons are all it will take for her to learn.

Homesteader Museum was a big hit with the kids. They loved the caboose, especially the observation cupola, and Arun climbed into it several times in an effort to improve his climbing ability and master his fear of falling. The homesteaders’ houses led both kids to wonder how whole families lived in such small houses.

The old appliances, cameras and tools also interested them and Mattea marveled at how slow the process of dialing 911 was on an old telephone. The obligatory visit to the gift shop meant T-shirts advertising Powell’s museum will appear in Rochester, Minn., in the near future.

We took the kids to Cody assuming that they would enjoy the natural history section of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, but wouldn’t be interested in most of the rest of the exhibits.

They did like the dioramas depicting the flora and fauna of the Yellowstone region, but Arun really liked the Buffalo Bill exhibits as well and surprised us with his interest in the art museum. He spent enough time looking at the art that he was the last to be ready to leave the museum. In contrast, Mattea didn’t care for the Buffalo Bill stuff or the art, but enjoyed the plains Indian exhibits.

Both kids — and all four adults as well — liked the presentation about raptors that’s a feature of the center every day. Birds are fascinating creatures, so it was quite interesting to get a close-up look at the birds, which included an owl, a turkey vulture, a peregrine falcon and an American kestrel .

Those of you who have worked hard to make Homesteader Museum the fine museum it is today will be happy to know that at least one 7-year-old girl thinks our museum is better than the more famous one in Cody.

As I write this, our daughter’s family is packing to go home, and by the time you read this Karen and I will be presiding over an empty nest once more. 

In a sense, though, the nest is never really empty, because the two youngsters that entertained us will leave some of their spirit behind to brighten our conversation the next time we connect with them via computer. We will look forward with even greater anticipation to the next time we visit, because this visit has strengthened the bonds that hold our families together.

We can hardly wait for that next visit.

•••

Another visit is coming to an end with the departure of Tom Lawrence from the Tribune staff. 

Tom has done a tremendous job while here in Powell, and I have learned a great deal about journalism just by reading the product that has been produced under his guidance. The Tribune will be better in the future because he has been here.

It has been a pleasure working with you, Tom, and I am sorry to see you go. Thanks for the experience, and good luck in the future.