Millions of people are remembering and commemorating the
fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination, so by comparison to
that, local high school football doesn’t seem that important – except that it
is for a lot of people here in Witch Falls.
That’s why it is my top story for yet another Friday update; and it’s
great news for the Ridge
River Raiders. Once I finish thawing out, I may even manage
to get excited about the fact that they’ll be playing for the small-school
Division Championship match.
There were probably quite a few people expecting an easy win
before the game started because our team had won fairly convincingly when we’d
played Grand Summit in the second round of the playoffs last season, but
they’re a better team this year; and the cold weather was a big equalizer for
at least the first three quarters of the match.
They even scored first, and the lead changed hands three times before we
managed to get the lead back and keep it for the rest of the game. The final score was thirty-eight to
thirty-one; and could have gone the other way very easily if the Grand Summit offense hadn’t run
out of gas and given up two fourth-quarter interceptions to Kyle. The game was all about defense too; since
both offenses gave up big plays to the other team’s defense, and most points
were earned from turnovers.
All of that action did make for a great game to watch, and
the slightly more than half of the spectators that weren’t supporting Grand
Summit needed to celebrate for quite a while – and continued to do that for
nearly an hour despite the cold. Tim
invited Michael, Rowen, and I to the post-game party at his uncle and aunt’s
house, so we went there straight from the school; and spent the first half-hour
or so helping with the work that was being done before Kyle, his teammates, and
most of the other guests joined the party.
I checked in at home shortly after we got to the Landry’s house, and
while Dad was home; Violet and Dillon weren’t going to be back until around
eleven-thirty, so Michael and I decided to hang out with Tim and Rowen until
then.
The guys always manage to astound me with the amount of food
an entire team of football players can demolish; and they were even more fired
up tonight now that they were getting a second chance at winning a
championship. That excitement kicked up
several notches when we found out that three-time champions, Clairmont, had won
their game too; and we’d be trying to win our first championship in a very long
time while trying to keep them from winning a fourth in a row. That’s exactly the challenge Kyle was hoping
for; so now we’ll find out soon whether Clairmont’s history of success and
another obviously good team will be better than Kyle’s talent and towering
desire to prove himself to be the kind of footballer his father was.
Dad wasn’t going to be home in time for the start of the
game anyway, but I don’t think that Ethan really had a problem with staying
warm and missing the game tonight. He
was at Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house with Mom, Ehlana, and most of the
family for dinner and a holiday weekend cooking night. I have mixed feelings about missing out on
that, since my jobs would have included a lot of vegetable peeling and
dishwashing; but I’m sure they had lots of fun – and weren’t frozen solid from
being outdoors for well-over three hours.
I think it actually felt worse when Michael and I walked
home, but only because we’d started to warm up while at the party only to
plunge ourselves back into those freezing temperatures again. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana were home by the
time we got back; and the twins were up and looking forward to seeing Violet
and Dillon for a few minutes before going to bed. Our two favorite college teens rolled in
about ten minutes after Michael and I got back; and it was back out into the
outdoor freezer again so we could welcome them and help carry Violet’s bags
inside.
Hot chocolate or coffee, and warmed up Olde Bakery treats
helped a bit while we had a little chat before Dillon and Michael both headed
home by shortly after midnight; and I should mention that it’s more than a
little weird to be kissing my boyfriend goodnight at the same time Violet’s
doing the same with Dillon. She and I
tucked Ethan and Ehlana in for the night after that, and then we sat in the
living room with Mom and Dad and continued talking until nearly one o’clock
before we all went up to bed.
Violet was tired out by then, but the offer of a dip in my
Jacuzzi was too tempting to put off until tomorrow night; and she’s doing that
now as I write this. She’s also going to
stay with Mandy and me tonight, though I seriously doubt our girl chat will
last very long before one of us passes out – we’ve both pretty much been on the
go since early morning; and neither of us managed to sleep much last
night. Other than my usual nightly
computer checks and answering an email from Dawn that was mostly about Violet;
I’m not doing any studying or family business work tonight.
As expected, I also didn’t get a chance to talk with Michael
or Tim about Rowen’s birthday tonight; and since I haven’t seen her online
while I’ve had my computer on; Rowen’s probably gone to sleep already, so I
haven’t talked with her either. I’ll
need to do that tomorrow, since I could tell that she was having a tough time
trying to be happy for everyone tonight; and I’m sure she expects that Tim and
Michael will be going to the championship game next Friday. I’ve already mentioned that Michael and I
could be in for a first fight if he and Tim don’t make the right decisions for
Rowen’s birthday, but one way or the other; I will make sure that my best
friend has an amazing day – even if I have to spend some quality time knocking
some sense into one or more boys!
That’s at least an amusing place to end this update, so I’m
going to do that; put my computer away; and try to finish warming up while
Mandy and I wait for Violet to join us for a chat and nap.
Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
