Well, I guess it’s like I said before – time just seems to be slipping by so quickly these days.

It feels like one minute we were back at the end of May, celebrating Mark’s birthday. Now July’s almost over, and we’re celebrating Zayne’s.

My little boy’s twenty-four years old now. Can you believe it?

Just like every year, I ended up thinking a lot about Luc and Hazel. My heart just breaks knowing they aren’t here to see the incredible young man he’s grown into. He’s certainly had his up and downs over the years, but he’s such a hard worker and such a kind soul. Stubborn, sure… And with a few hints of Oma’s famous temper every now and then. But he’s such a genuinely good person. And I’m just so proud of him. I know they would be too.

And he really seems to be doing well lately – which is a nice change compared to what we’ve been seeing.

Zayne’s been stuck in something of a ‘slump’, I guess. We’ve all been a little worried. I think a lot of it has to do with his career. He works so hard at his job, but I think he’s getting bored with it or something… Just the way he’s been talking about it lately. But if any of us tries to suggest a change, he won’t listen.

Mark says he’ll figure it out, and that we can’t force him to do anything. And I know he’s right. It’s just frustrating to see Zayne having such a hard time.

But things have been taking a big turn ever since he started talking to Hope. She’s this girl he met about a month or so ago (though Zayne tells us they actually met once before, back when he was a kid). She lives all the way in San Myshuno, he said. Apparently she’s a model… Sounds like every guy’s dream, doesn’t it? Mark and Papa had a lot of fun teasing him about it. But from what Zayne’s told us, she definitely doesn’t sound like what you’d expect a model to be like.

Anyway, she was in Windenburg for business, and they really seemed to hit it off. He’s been talking about her all the time, and I’ve noticed her posting on his Facebook a lot lately. They’re so far apart, but it still feels like they’re inseparable.

Even last night when we had him over for his birthday, he spent half the time on his phone talking to her. It’s very sweet, actually.

It got maman and Papa doing a lot of reminiscing about the long distance relationship they had back when they were kids… But Zayne keeps laughing it off and saying she’s not his girlfriend.

He’ll go on and on about how funny and smart and gorgeous she is, sure… But the minute one of us tries to ask, he’ll shut us down. “It’s not like that,” he kept saying.

But Papa wasn’t buying it. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I used to say about your Oma,” he said. “And look at us now.”

I guess we should stop giving him such a hard time about it. Girlfriend or not, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Zayne so happy. He really needed this, I think.

It’s been almost a year since he broke up with Amy, and it took him months to be able to move past it. Between the breakup and being frustrated with work, I think he was just really lost for a while.

And now, well… maybe Hope will be the one who helps him find his way again.