Our day started out with some fun when we woke up and
noticed that Violet hadn’t made it home last night.
For the record, I’m okay with my cousin setting that kind of
precedence for me; since there’s a very good chance that it will be very useful
to me in the future. She had needed to
come home and get clothes to wear to church; but we’d already exercised; had
breakfast; cleaned the kitchen; and gotten ready to go by the time she joined
us. Aunt Leanne was happy to tease
Violet about her sleepover at Dillon’s house, and I had fun with that too –
right up until Aunt Leanne found out that I’d had two boys all alone in the
lounge with me last night; and then the jokes suddenly weren’t quite so
entertaining.
Then there was the added problem that Rowen was with us
while I was being teased; and I needed to explain why Michael and Tim were
hanging out with me last night, and why she hadn’t been invited too, without
telling her anything about what we had really been doing. I didn’t – and wouldn’t – lie to her, and it
wasn’t tough for her to make the guess about why she’d been excluded, but she
also didn’t know if that was good or bad; and I couldn’t really help her with
that little problem without giving too much of the surprise away.
That scene happened before the service started, and it was
cold enough this morning that most people drove to church unless they lived
very close – which is why we had the family and friends meet and greet there
instead of collecting the usual gang as we walked there. With the Thanksgiving weekend now only days
away, pretty much every kid and teen in Sunday school helped out with the last
touches on everything the teens would need for the service next Sunday. It’s also the first Sunday in Advent this
year; so the program the teens are putting on has a lot packed into it; and
it’s going to be one of the longest Sunday service they’ve done since I’ve been
here – not including the Christmas pageants.
I know that the usual group of teens that are the main actors
and musicians for these teen-led specials are already working on that Christmas
show too, but it must seem a bit crazy for them that there will only be three
Sundays between the two big shows to finish getting ready for the second one –
including the Sunday of the Christmas pageant.
Michael is sure to be drafted next year, so I’ll probably find out what
it’s like for myself over the next four years too.
Moving along, the most fun I had at church was working on
Rowen’s birthday surprise – no easy job when trying to do that without Rowen
finding out what I was doing. Hopefully
we’ll be able to keep it a surprise, but after adding a handful of
co-conspirators to the plan; I’m not sure whether that’ll happen or not. The good news is that I was able to make the
parental approval and travel requests while we were at church; and had
confirmation for both by dinnertime.
Sally’s parents were happy to help us out, and while Patricia had mixed
feelings about her baby being away for most of her birthday; she was happy that
we wanted to do something big for Rowen while she and Owen were going to be
busy at the computer store all day anyway.
Mom booked the extra hotel room for Rowen and me at the same hotel the
Landrys – and most of the other players and families – were staying at; so
Michael, Tim, and I really only need to deal with finalizing the non-football
entertainment parts of our surprise.
The rest of my day has pretty much been all fun. We’ve have Violet and Dillon with our family
for most of the afternoon and evening.
They had lunch with us – and Grandma and Grandpa. We spent most of the afternoon at our house,
and had quite a few guests stopping by for visits. Rowen came over for the afternoon too, and
when we weren’t hanging out with Violet, Dillon, and everyone else; we were
doing our homework in the lounge with Michael and Tim while Michael was on his
afternoon break. I didn’t help out at
the Inn today because we were doing a family and friends buffet dinner there;
and followed that up with a couple of hours of fun time at Aunt Leanne and
Uncle Adam’s house.
Violet ended up agreeing to spend the night there; mostly so
she could have extra time with Aunt Leanne and Zack, and while I’m sure they’ll
have fun; I’m trying not to think about the fact that she’ll only have two more
sleeps here before heading to Woodvale with Dillon for the Thanksgiving weekend
– assuming she actually stays with us both nights. I’d invite Dillon to stay here to make sure
that happens, but his parents must be feeling the same way as I am; so I won’t
even suggest it.
While I missed getting to spend the time with Michael
tonight, it was nice to come home and get an early start on my usual school
night activities. Mom did a Magi lesson
with Ethan, Ehlana, and me before we did the bedtime routine and while Dad was
getting some work done in the office. I
was in my room and working on my computer by shortly after ten; and that’s why
it’s just coming up on midnight now as I’m finishing this update. I did my archive homework, but skipped the
language studies; and only spent a half-hour or so on family business
work. With the big testing week
finished, and only three days to the holiday weekend; it should be a fairly
easy few days.
Easy won’t mean quiet.
We have a birthday to plan for; I hope we’ll have more time to hang out
with Violet; there’s still work to do to get ready for Thanksgiving; and every
store in town will be getting ready for one of the biggest shopping weekends of
the year. I really do want to be ready
and fully charged for all of the work and fun, so I guess that’s it for
tonight; and I’m out of here. Until next
time...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
