Happy 21st Birthday, Jake!
Happy 15th Birthday, Shannon!
Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I were invited to
Shannon’s birthday dinner and party, but since our only involvement with Jake’s
birthday was the video chat we did with Jake and Stephanie this morning; let’s
cover that part of the report first.
Michael came over for Tai Chi; we split up
to get ready for school right after that; and then we went to the Inn so that
we could do that video chat while having breakfast with Rebecca there. Jacob and Miranda couldn’t stop working to
eat with us too, but the video chat worked out okay because we could keep
things going with Jake and Stephanie whenever Miranda was in the dining room or
Jacob was busy keeping up with the breakfast orders. Jake’s birthday didn’t get them out of classes,
but they were between classes while chatting with us. We had fun with that, and Jake and Stephanie
are doing great and having fun too. It
was a bit strange to think of Jake hitting the ‘twenty-one’ next level of
growing up when I’ve just reached the learner’s permit for driving level; but I’m
sure that’ll seem even stranger this summer when they’re able to join the other
adults for nights out at the pub and other party fun.
Okay, Jake, Stephanie, Violet, Dillon, and
the rest of their friends will all be twenty-one, and probably won’t’ go out
partying with their parents; but you get what I mean.
Moving along, the video chat was too short,
but they had other things to do and we had work or school. There isn’t much to report from our classes
today, but we did have a minor birthday party for Shannon during our lunch
break that was mostly to share the fun with the teens that weren’t going to her
dinner party. That included the older
cheerleaders and football players that don’t generally go to parties for any Grade
Nine students even if they are on the squad or team; but are still happy to get
in on free bonus Olde Bakery treats when offered to them at school.
While Shannon was on the cheerleading squad
with Rowen and me, we were invited to her party more because she hangs out with
our Grade Ten gang – and she does that because her best friend, Diana, dates
our classmate, Kris. That isn’t all that
strange, but I’m mentioning it because she is the only friend in our larger
circle that isn’t part of the group through being paired up with a boyfriend or
girlfriend in our class. If there will
be Magi reading this in the future that grew up in cities instead of our little
town – like Violet; that might just sound like a useless observation. Maybe that’s true, and when you consider that
Michael and I don’t have much time for our extended groups of friends outside
of school or through the other team or group activities we’re involved with; it
isn’t a big deal at all. I can say that
the birthday dinner tonight felt different for me than it has with others we’ve
been to this school year; though that could also be that all of her friends’
guests were couples while she was the only single teen there that wasn’t also a
member of her family.
Maybe Rowen and I should get Diana and some
of the other girls together to help her out with some matchmaking! ;^)
Sure, I’ll just add that to my to-do list
with the dozens of other things that I don’t have time for right now!
Moving along – again – let’s get to the
party part of the report. I came home
after school; had a visit with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana; and then got ready for
the party. Michael picked me up; we
collected Rowen and Tim along the way; and headed over to Shannon’s house. The party started out with a social hour;
dinner was fast and teen friendly; and Shannon had fun with all of the usual
birthday fun – including opening gifts, the cake, and the rest.
By the way – I’ve always been okay with
having a late birthday in school standards because I got to start school early;
but there are advantages to being on the other side of that line and being one
of the oldest students in your year.
Shannon gets to be one of the first in her class with a learner’s
permit; and I’m sure she’ll be very popular next year when she’ll be able to
drive on her own while still in Grade Ten – while I’ll be more than halfway
through Grade Eleven before I’m able to do that!
Yes, she did get that permit today too; so
she’s a happy camper to have joined that club.
Okay, so dinner was casual and fun; and it’s
especially nice to have those meals now that the guys have pretty much outgrown
their phase where food and drink contests came along with being as gross as
possible. Some of us helped with the
clean-up once the gifts had been opened and the Olde Bakery cake demolished;
and then it was time for some video gaming; music; and teen chat time for a
couple of hours. That was all fun, and I
liked getting to spend the time with Michael, Rowen, Tim, and the rest of our
friends on our normal mid-week work night; but the fun also came at the expense
of not being able to do my work early today.
I also still had my homework to do after getting home; so that added a
bit of time to my schedule too.
I just wasn’t up to another really late
night, so I used a time phase to do all of my work and studying – even though
that tires me out just as much as putting in the work in normal time. There isn’t anything newsworthy to report
from any of that, but I did also fit in spending some time with Mom, Dad,
Ethan, and Ehlana too, and since that was all done without a time phase; it’s
still a lot later than it normally would be for my Wednesday night bedtime. We needed to have those visits because we
really haven’t gotten to do much of anything together so far this week, and I’m
glad that I finished all of my work and studying; but I’m also feeling like a
broken record by reporting that I’m having trouble keeping up with everything –
especially when I’m feeling run down most of the time.
There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do
about that right now beyond what I already am doing with self-healing every
day, and I’m better off getting the extra sleep instead of going on about it;
so, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
