Rowen and I are stretched out at opposite ends of the sofa
in the lounge, watching a Christmas movie; chatting; and winding down after a
busy day. Mom, Dad, Ethan, Ehlana, and
Mandy are all sleeping, and since my temporary third-floor neighbor is in
Woodvale tonight; it’s pretty quiet around here now.
Other than while we exercised; I wouldn’t have used quiet to
describe anything about our morning here.
Barely controlled chaos would be more accurate. I helped out where I could with breakfast,
the clean-up, and getting Ehlana ready for her play day at KidZone and with
Grandma and Grandpa; but that didn’t leave me with much time to spend with
Violet while she packed and got ready for her trip and busy day.
I was on my way to meet up with Rowen, Michael, and Rebecca
on the way to school before anyone else left, so I missed the rest of the
action going on there between when I left and when Mom and Violet each headed
out on their trips to the airport and Woodvale respectively. Violet ended up going shopping with Mom after
Ethan and Ehlana were dropped off at KidZone, and the main reason for that
might have been to check out what Abby had in stock for the holiday weekend
sale that Violet was going to miss this year.
Mom appreciated the help with the groceries, but they didn’t spend a lot
of time doing either kind of shopping before Mom needed to meet up with Aunt
Leanne and Zack; and head out to get Barb and Corey from the airport.
Everything going on at school today was turkey-day-related;
and none of our teachers tried very hard to get any serious lessons taught –
possibly because they were all as excited about a four-day weekend as their
students. I’m sure that there were some
classes in the younger grades that weren’t given any homework for the weekend;
but our class wasn’t that lucky. We
didn’t have anything that needed to be done today, though, and since the main
assignment can’t be done until after Thanksgiving anyway; Michael, Tim, Rowen,
and I skipped the usual after-school studying.
That was the good news.
The not-so-much-fun news was that it’s a holiday weekend;
and my three favorite friends were all working instead. Since Ethan and Ehlana were with Grandma and
Grandpa anyway, and Mom wasn’t back from the airport run yet; I ended up going
to the computer store with Rowen and helping out with getting everything ready
for the big weekend sale. I’d been torn
between doing that and hanging out at the Inn with Michael, but he suggested
that I spend the time with Rowen; since we’d be together for most of the day on
Thanksgiving – and wouldn’t have much time for Tim or Rowen while we were all
busy with our families.
He probably also noticed that Rowen has been getting more
anxious the closer we get to her birthday, and that’s part of the reason we
decided to start our holiday weekend with a sleepover. The other reasons were because we spent the
evening babysitting Ethan and Ehlana while Mom and Dad were at Uncle Adam and
Aunt Leanne’s for the evening and because Rowen needed rescuing from a Patrick
and Scott sleepover at her house. I’m
fairly glad that we got to be here instead of being around for either of those
other events.
I am really happy for Aunt Leanne that Barb made the effort
to come here in person to see her childhood friend’s first baby; but I also
have to be honest and admit that hanging out with Barb and Corey would be very
low on my to-do list pretty much any day.
Most people wouldn’t understand that sentiment from looking at
them. Barb and Corey look like the
perfect power couple; they’re incredibly happy together; and obviously love
each other. That’s all fine and great
for them, but it’s the fakery they use to hide their distain for pretty much
everything about my home – and the things I love most about it – that gets to
me so easily.
They’re never going to know the truth about us, and I
wouldn’t want them to anyway; but then Barb and Corey would never understand
our life choices if they did know that we could literally live anywhere and do
anything we wanted. I guess that does go
both ways, because I don’t understand why Barb would so easily walk away from
the family, friends, and love she had growing up here when I’d have loved to
have connections with friends that I’ve known since infancy. I’m certainly grateful that I’ll be able to
say that I have best friends that I’ve known since I was nine.
Without dragging those thoughts out any longer, let’s just
say that Barb and Corey look at life and happiness very differently than I do;
I hope they have a fun weekend with Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, and Zack; and move
on.
Rowen’s parents were keeping the store open late tonight –
as were most store owners in town – so Rowen came home with me for dinner. We didn’t add the sleepover plan for sure
until after finding out that we were babysitting; and that news flash came
while we were helping to cook dinner for six.
Dad was head chef tonight while Mom got to have a break after her long
drive, and the dinner entertainment was a complete exchange of stories about what
we’d each been doing all day. It was an
all-tween clean-up crew of two with supervisory assistance from Ethan and
Ehlana while Mom and Dad got ready to go out; and then we all went over to
Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne’s house.
Four of us were only stopping in to say hello to Barb and
Corey, and then Ethan, Ehlana, and I went with Rowen to her house so she could
pack an overnight bag before we headed home again. It was play time in my room and the lounge
after that. We played and sang some
Christmas music; had a mini video game competition; and wrapped up Ethan and
Ehlana’s night with an animated Christmas movie. We used my Jacuzzi for their bedtime bath;
had the snack and story time in the lounge; and then Rowen and I had the twins
tucked in their beds nearly a full half-hour before Mom and Dad got home.
In case you’re wondering, yes they stayed up late; and no,
we can’t fool Mom about things like that thanks to our links with her.
Rowen and I had started our next Christmas movie by the time
Mom and Dad got back; and we took a short break when they checked in on us
before going to bed. They had a few fun
stories to tell us about their evening, and didn’t say enough about other
things to have me sure they were glad to be home again.
It’s been movie and girl chat time since Mom and Dad left
for their room; and Rowen’s mostly needed to talk about Tim and her
birthday. I really feel bad that I can’t
tell her anything, but we’re not that far away from springing at least the
first of the surprises on her; and I’m sure she’ll think that it’s worth the
wait. Entertaining ourselves with making
plans for Tim that I know won’t be necessary has been a fun diversion for her,
and since I won’t see her much tomorrow except in the morning before she heads
home; I’m fairly confident that we’re going to keep her birthday plans a
surprise until Friday.
I’m sure that’s why I’m quietly more fired up about her
birthday that Rowen is right now, though she’ll probably spend more time
thinking about it tomorrow than I will while we’re both busy with our family
Thanksgivings.
That’s something else that I’m really excited about tonight
– sharing this holiday with Michael and our families. Rowen wishes she was doing the same thing
with Tim, so I’m keeping that low key and not saying much about it; though we
did talk about having a little visit at Rowen’s house sometime tomorrow
afternoon or evening if we can work that out.
I’d suggest getting together with Tim too, but with Thanksgiving and the
big football game; he’s likely going to be too busy with his family to add
anything else to his day. I’ll ask
Michael about it in the morning just in case he has any ideas that might at
least help to brighten Rowen’s Thanksgiving Day a little bit.
That’s all I have for now, and while we still have the last
third or so of the movie to watch, I’m going to put my computer to bed now; and
possibly fall asleep here on the sofa before the end of the show. It isn’t all that late, but I am going to be
rested and ready for the next few days of extreme fun!
Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
