There were another couple of inches of fresh snow on the
ground by the time I woke up this morning, and I shoveled the driveway and
sidewalks instead of doing Tai Chi with Mom.
I was only a little surprised when Michael came over to help me with the
work, and we even managed to get finished before Jake was done clearing their
driveway.
We took the tween hit for it at school this morning, and I
suspect that my adorable little brother and sister had something to do with the
change in breakfast plans, but Mom invited Michael to have pancakes, bacon, and
hot chocolate for breakfast with us to thank him for helping out with the
shoveling yesterday and this morning; he accepted; and we both had fun goofing
around with Ethan and Ehlana for nearly three quarters of an hour while we ate
and then cleaned up before he headed home again, and we both needed to get
ready for school.
I had to pack my bag for the trip to Woodvale too, since we
were leaving right after school, so Rowen already had the evening and morning
news updates from Mom and the twins by the time I met up with her in the
kitchen. She was a bit too entertained
by those stories, and couldn’t resist teasing me about winning the game night
championship without her. Aunt Leanne will
be proud of her for adding in a few jokes about ending the night teamed up with
Michael and then working together first thing in the morning again before
having him stay for breakfast. Ethan and
Ehlana didn’t exactly help me out by telling her that they’d still been asleep,
and didn’t actually witness Michael come over to our house this morning. Thankfully that little attempt at humor
didn’t make it onto the school gossip network!
The news that was floating around at school today made
things weird enough for Michael and me; though it was harder for him. Rowen had only teased me in private, but Tim
didn’t feel the same need for constraint, and led the jokes that were mostly
directed at Michael. He seemed to be
oblivious to the effect that was having on Lisa, and she was nearly as upset
with him as she was with me by the end of the day.
While I managed to provide the wrong kind of entertainment
for my friends and classmates, we did actually have classes to work through
too, and there were other things going on that were more interesting to most of
the kids and teens at school than the tween drama of the day. Snow play at lunch time – and recesses for
the younger kids – topped the to-do list for a lot of us; and Rowen and I had
as much fun as everyone else as we joined in for a major snowball fight and
added our contribution to the small groups of snowmen that dotted the yard by
the time we went inside again for our afternoon classes. I hadn’t really thought about it much, since
we’ll be away all weekend, but the Maple Valley Winter Festival is this weekend,
and it seemed that nearly everyone except Rowen and I were planning on going to
the festival either on Saturday or Sunday.
This will be the first year that I’ve missed it since moving here, but I
wouldn’t trade doing that instead of a weekend away for anything.
After being set free from school, Rowen and I stopped at the
computer store to say goodbye to her parents; she changed and picked up her bag
at her place; and then we met up with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana at my house. Mom had the van loaded and everything ready
to go, but I wanted to get changed too, and did that quickly before we all
hopped into the minivan and hit the road.
We were winging our travel plans, and wouldn’t be deciding
whether we’d be stopping for dinner in Crystal Springs
or just hitting a drive-thru and picking up fast food to go. That decision ended up being for fast food
when it took nearly three hours to get to the far side of Crystal Springs. We were able to meet up with Dad there, but
since we’d all been delayed; Mom and Dad decided not to lose another hour and a
half by stopping for dinner at a restaurant.
Even with more delays from Crystal
Springs to Woodvale, we
managed to get to Uncle Rick and Aunt Melissa’s by nine-thirty.
Mom and Dad had a surprise waiting for them – two nights
away from the kids while we stayed with our cousins, and they spent their
nights doing whatever parents do when they don’t have the kids around in the
privacy of a five-star hotel room. We
needed to unload the van first; they stayed for an hour-long visit; and we put
Ethan and Ehlana to bed before they left the minivan behind and took Dad’s
truck over to the hotel.
Dawn, Rowen, and I are using the family room for our weekend
sleepover headquarters, though Dawn told us that Chris and Martin hadn’t been
happy about giving up their usual weekend hangout for us to use instead. Having girls invade their space wasn’t the
problem anymore – Dawn and Violet had both kept me up to speed enough for me to
know that Chris, Martin, and their buddies usually had girls hanging out with
them this year. That change, however,
did not apply to kid sisters, her friends, or to Rowen and me; so we were
cramping their style.
Violet spent a little time with us after Mom and Dad left
for the hotel, but Chris and Martin took over the living room to do their big
screen gaming there while we were watching junior chick flicks. My usual late study nights must be making a
difference, since Dawn fell asleep before we were half-way through the first,
and what will be the only, movie. I was
doing some surfing on my computer while she, Rowen, and I watched the show and
chatted, but started doing my usual nightly checks once Dawn was out for the
count.
There really isn’t much family news to report so far, but we
didn’t really have much time to talk about much more than our trip and what
everyone had been doing for the past couple of days – especially with how we’d
been dealing with the snow. I’m sure
we’ll have more time to catch up on everything that doesn’t make the email
rounds tomorrow while we’re shopping and playing together all day.
For now, though, the last thing I want to mention is that I
miss being home. I know that sounds
weird, since we’ve only been away from Witch Falls
for a handful of hours, but it’s still true; and unexpected. Maybe it’s the Witch Falls
magic tugging at me. I definitely miss
Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Mandy; and I guess there really is a feeling – an
attachment – that I don’t really even think about; but it’s as real as the
links I have with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana.
I’ve been exploring that sensation while thinking about it, and changing
the focus to range from concentrating on the town and area in general to
specific people and places.
I’m not surprised to find out that I especially feel that
sense of something missing with the Stone and Emerson families, but discovering
that feeling is strongest when I think about Michael – even more than Miranda
or Rebecca – must mean that I’ve entered the tweeird zone. Hopefully that isn’t a crossing over danger
sign! That little piece of information
won’t be getting to Aunt Leanne anytime soon, and I half wish that I didn’t
know either; though it also feels really great to have that whole connection to
home.
We have a big day ahead, starting with meeting Mom and Dad
for breakfast at their hotel, so I should wrap this up and get some sleep.
Until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor; logging
out!
