Happy 13th Birthday, Lily!
I’m fairly sure that Tai Chi this morning was the only quiet
time I had today through until I climbed into my Jacuzzi tonight – and even
then I was multi-tasking my usual school night studies, work, and computing
while I was the tub time.
The morning highlights included some sister hair and
dress-up time with Ehlana and the full shopping and travel report exchange
during breakfast that included pretty much everything that had been going on
when we weren’t together yesterday.
There was more shopping talk going on at church too, but the main action
there for the kids, teens, and Sunday school teachers revolved around the
ongoing work needed to get ready for the teen Christmas concert and other
holiday activities and crafts.
Snow had continued to fall very lightly all morning, so
Michael and I weren’t the only people in town having minor snowball fights
after church; though we were on our own for that while walking to the Inn. His parents
had needed to leave before the service had ended, but we were ahead of Rebecca
and most of the staff working the lunch shift too; and while I wouldn’t
classify that little respite as quiet time; it was quite a bit of fun.
I only helped out at the Inn
until the main prep work was finished for the lunch rush, and then I went home
to eat and get ready for Lily’s party.
It had pretty much stopped snowing by then and Dad had cleared that
half-inch or so of white and fluffy from the driveway, sidewalks, and porches
already. Missing out on that was okay,
but I would have liked to be there for the wintry play time Mom and Dad had
with Ethan and Ehlana when they’d first got home from church.
Rowen met up with me at my house because Mom was taking us
over to Lily’s for the party so we didn’t have to walk. We picked Michael up at the Inn
on our way; but met Tim there. This had
been another group gift opportunity, and as usual; I liked being able to do
that instead of buying four smaller gifts for our friends. It was also the first time I’d been invited
to one of Lily’s parties; which gave me a chance to get to know her family a
bit better than I did before today.
She’s a member of the Ayres clan, but only distantly related
to Uncle Nick, Liz, and their side of the family. That sometimes seems strange in such a small
town when families have the same last name; but then I also don’t usually even
think about how connected almost all of the families here really are. I’m sure that Lily doesn’t mind having a
cousin for one of her teachers this year; and probably has other teachers with
closer relationships. It’s probably
because it was just Mom and me before moving here that makes my new family ties
so much more important to me than for other kids and teens.
Anyway, Lily’s the baby of her family; her parents are
closer in age to Michael’s parents than mine; and her oldest brother is in his
second year of college now. He obviously
couldn’t be at Lily’s party, but her sister, Alexandria,
and brother, Kurt, were there all afternoon – while staying out of the way with
their respective boyfriend and girlfriend until we all went to dinner at the Inn. There really
isn’t much to report from the party. The
guys mostly wanted to talk football – and watch it on television when they
weren’t playing video games too. The
college championship games from Saturday were big news – particularly the
upsets – and the NFL races for playoff spots are heating up too; so the
die-hard fans like Tim are really getting into the games now that high school
football is done for the season.
I should probably recognize for posterity that my boyfriend
did not even attempt to watch football last night or even check the scores
while we were hanging out together in the lounge. Hopefully that won’t damage his future reputation;
but I’ve definitely lucked out in the boyfriend department when it comes to
things like that.
While the boys were immersed in football and video games,
the girls mostly just sat around and talked.
The only excitement for the afternoon was when Lily opened her gifts,
and her parents had her do that at the house so that they didn’t need to drag
everything to the Inn only to haul it home again later. Michael and I left for the Inn
early so that we could help with getting the first wave of food cooked and out
to the buffet tables; and then we re-joined the party. Tim and Rowen had saved seats for us, and
though we were on the edge of the birthday action; we enjoyed an entertaining
hour and a half together before Michael and I wished Lily one last happy
birthday and went back to work in the kitchen.
The rest of my Sunday evening has been busy and more than a
little exhausting. Michael, Rebecca, and
I were sent home early; mostly because we all had homework that needed to get
finished by morning. I stopped in at
Michael’s house long enough for a decent goodnight hug and kiss; but then
headed home for the night from there.
Except for some bedtime fun while getting Ethan and Ehlana tucked in for
the night; it’s been all work since then.
My homework didn’t take long, but my Magi lesson with Mom took a bit
over an hour; and I’ve spent more than three hours on my studies, the family
business, and my usual nightly computing since climbing into bed with Mandy.
I really need to crash for a few hours now, but before I do
that; let’s take a quick look at the upcoming events schedule. It’s hard to believe that we only have two
weeks left at school before the Christmas break, but most of the college kids
only have one week left before they’ll be coming home. They’re all concentrating on exams right now,
but I’m looking forward to having Violet, Dillon, Jake, and Stephanie home
again soon.
That’s going to be great, but we have a lot more on the go;
including the school Christmas dance on Friday night; a sleepover and
babysitting service on Saturday night while the adults go out to a Christmas
dinner at the Inn and party at Sheldon’s; and our band has a Seniors’ Christmas
party to play at on Friday afternoon, and the Maple Valley Christmas parade on
Saturday morning. We’ll be having our
last game night of the year on Thursday too; Michael and I need to find more
time to practice for the school Christmas concert between now and next
Thursday; and I have all of my regular work to do too, so even the quieter days
will be busy.
With all of that to look forward to, I really should get
started on my nap time now. If this
weekend is any indication; this whole month is going to add up to a best-ever
kind of Christmas and holiday season; and every day will be full of fun and
excitement – even with all of the work.
Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
