Happy 12th Birthday, Dawn!
From what I heard when we texted about fifteen minutes ago,
she and her friends are having a blast with their party and sleepover; and
we’ll do what we can to keep that fun going tomorrow when we see them in
Crystal Springs for the shopping trip.
Back here in Witch Falls, we’re home from my first-ever
parade with the school band; and I’m now seriously enjoying being truly warm
for the first time in hours while soaking in my Jacuzzi.
Our day started out great, from my perspective, when we woke
up and found a little dusting of white fluffy stuff on the ground. There was barely enough of it on the lawns to
make any decent snowballs; though we tried our best to do that on our way to
school and before classes started while we stayed outdoors and played until we
needed to get into the school and started on our studies.
I had a blast with that little round of winter fun, and just
in case tossing snowballs at each other could be considered ‘our first fight’;
Michael and I had a little bonus entertainment while we ‘made up’ for the first
time too. Tim thought that was a great
idea, and though Rowen was still blushing about their make-up kiss when we were sitting at our
desks and the morning announcements put an end to the teasing and snickers
being directed at the four of us; she was also sporting a very content and
happy smile.
That was pretty much the most excitement we had through
until getting set free for the weekend after last class. Michael, Rowen, and I had time to check in
with our parents; drop book bags off at our homes; and we all got changed into
clothes that would be warm enough for being outdoors all evening before meeting
up again and heading back to the school.
The bus and driver weren’t there yet – they were busy doing one of the
country kids’ routes – but that just gave us time to help with getting the band
gear together – the bigger instruments, music stands, and a box of music
folders and clips that would hold them to the stands. The gear and instruments were the main
reasons we were taking a bus instead of just getting some volunteer drivers
with minivans, and though the bus wasn’t going to be as comfortable for us; it
made the trip feel more exciting to me.
We were loaded up and on the road by five, and even with the cold
weather; it was non-stop fun from then until we got back to the school at
around eleven o’clock.
Before I get to that, I want to mention that Tim wasn’t
happy about not being with us tonight.
It’s probably the only time so far that he’s wished that he was in the
band too; though I’m sure that had more to do with Rowen than Michael and me. We’ll see if that motivates him to join the
band sometime in the future, but I don’t expect anything else to get in the way
of his high school football dreams; so we’ll see whether that happens or not.
There was non-stop entertainment during the bus ride to
Pinehurst. Michael, Rowen, and I were
mostly quiet while enjoying the show the older teens put on for us – both
intentionally and not. When we got to
town, we needed to get everything set up on the trailer that had already been
decorated by our ‘sponsors’ and brought to the park where the parade was being
staged. All we needed to do was set up
our chairs, music stands, and haul the drums and bigger instruments from the
bus to the trailer. We had time after
that to get hot drinks and food at tables that had been set up to take care of
the volunteers and participants; and then we got onto the trailer and had a
twenty-minute warm-up as we waited for the parade to start.
That warm-up was musical, not physical, and with the
wind-chill tonight; it was well below freezing by the time we hit the road and
started performing for the crowds that lined the streets. Pinehurst is quite a bit bigger than Witch
Falls, so the parade route was longer than ours is for the Fourth of July. I’m sure that’s mostly to accommodate all of
the spectators, and there was a great turnout despite the cold. Since we were sitting on a flatbed trailer,
we were high enough above the ground to watch pretty much all of the parade
elements that were ahead of us; and it was really cool to see everything lit up
and glowing in the dark.
Since I started this update with the news that I’m enjoying
a nice long soak in my Jacuzzi, there’s no point in sugar-coating the effects
of sitting around in the cold; and even the guys had to admit that they were
frozen solid by the time we had everything packed up again and on the bus. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t have fun
too, because we did; and I really loved hearing people singing along to our
music; clapping; and cheering us on. We
even had fun with the teens that booed us because our football team beat theirs
in the regular season finale this year on our way to the championship.
This parade was about a bit over an hour long this year, and
since we were about a third of the way into it; we hit the road at around
seven-twenty; and finished up at the other end just before eight-thirty. It was after nine by the time we had the bus
packed up; and then we were set free to enjoy the mini winter carnival that was
going on in and around the little downtown park and square. Michael, Rowen, and I picked up hot chocolate
and snacks first; and then we wandered around and joined in for some of the
games and activities while the older teens and our few chaperones hung out in
other small groups.
While we didn’t really get to have all that much time to
play before we needed to be back on the bus and on our way home, most of us
were ready to get out of the cold by the time we left for home – though out of
the cold was relative; since the bus heater wasn’t exactly keeping us toasty
warm. I did have Michael to cuddle with
while Rowen was on her own; so I won’t complain about that too much. We weren’t quite done with the cold when we
got home either, since we still needed to unload the bus and put everything
away in the music room before walking home.
That’s why it was past eleven-thirty by the time Michael
kissed me goodnight on my front porch before he hurried on to his house and we
both went inside at the same time after one last exchange of waves and
smiles. Mom and Dad had already been in
bed for a while by then, but Mom met me in the hall on the second floor for a
quick chat when I stopped there on my way up to leave a pair of goodnight
kisses with my sleeping brother and sister.
She assured me that running my Jacuzzi this late wouldn’t bother her or
Dad, so I’m glad that we did talk; since I probably would have skipped the tub
time without that assurance. We didn’t
have time for the full update, but we can do that in the morning – if we have
time for that around everything else we have going on with the breakfast buffet
at the Inn and the shopping trip.
I really need to wrap this up, get out of the tub, dry my
hair, and get off to sleep so I’ll be ready for another day of Christmas fun
and adventure. Having guys along for
shopping trips isn’t always a good idea, but Christmas shopping is definitely
one of those exceptions; and Rowen and I are both sure that we’re going to have
one of those best-ever kind of trips for this first one with our
boyfriends. Yes, they’ve been on the
trip too before, but that isn’t at all the same; and the trips each way are
going to be way more fun with cuddle buddies – especially the trip home when
we’re all tired and ready for some quiet time.
Maybe I should check the travel schedule first before
spending time dreaming about that tonight, but if Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I
aren’t together; that can only be because Aunt Leanne is playing a joke on us
anyway. She isn’t going on this trip,
and I’ll miss having her and Uncle Adam with us; but Uncle Adam is taking the
on-call doctor work this weekend so that Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace can go for
the first time – and be there for Dawn’s belated-birthday lunch too. I won’t be the only one missing Aunt Leanne
and Uncle Adam tomorrow, but I’m sure that Aunt Leanne will check out the sales
that will be going on in town all weekend; and will have one or more fast food
deliveries dropped off at her house tomorrow night too.
Okay, that’s enough of my wandering thoughts for
tonight. It’s time to wrap this up; get
out of the tub; ready for bed; and off to sleep.
Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
