Cassie's Journal - September 10, 2012

The back-to-school transition is just about complete now that we’re into week two. While there are always some kids and teens needing a little more time to adjust from summer freedom to the daily grind of classes and homework; most of us are settling in, getting on with the work, and trying to have as much fun as we can while we do that.

I don’t have much particularly exciting to report from school today, but while I was busy playing Grade Seven student, one of the things I spent some time thinking a lot about was how different Magi students handle sports. Mom and I have both written about our own experiences, but there really isn’t all that much written about things like this in the archives. From what we’ve been told, there also aren’t any specific rules in place for the Magi in Witch Falls either – except that they’re - we’re – obviously not allowed to overtly use our Magi powers overtly.

What’s interesting to me is how the individual Magi handle dealing with that compared to how I do. For instance, in Rowen’s case, before meeting me, she didn’t really compete in sports despite the fact that she could easily have been one of the best in her class at everything. Her abilities don’t extend quite to the same level as mine do, but we do still need to hold back when we play baseball or during gym class – especially right now when so many of the other girls have a significant height and strength advantage.

The other kid and teen Magi pretty much run the range from not showing any above-average talent for sports to being among the best in the school. That alone is interesting when compared to the fact that every Magi hasn’t seemed to feel the same need to blend in when it comes to their academics. Every adult Magi is a top college graduate or student in their respective fields; and every Magi kid and teen is at or near the top of their class at school. I suppose it would bring too much unwanted attention to our little town to have every Magi collegian also be top college athletes, and doing that won’t be an option for me; but I can’t help but wonder how much fun it would be if we could all have some place to play where we could actually find out just how good we could be both with and without using our Magi gifts.

Getting to throw two-hundred mile-an-hour curve balls would be awesome, but then so would playing against someone who could then hit it too. The vampires in the Twilight movies wouldn’t have a chance against a Magi-powered team!

Getting back on topic, I’ve added some notes to our Magi Project archive; and will be studying this more. I think that the way we – Magi – deal with this sort of thing should change; or we should at least give the kids more guidance. I can tell you from experience that it’s not always easy to hold back and be less than you are; and I’m finding out that it’s even tougher to do when you’re heading into the teen years.

Moving along, I don’t really have any other school news, but music was the best class of the day – even though Mrs. Robinson had us working on basic music theory for nearly half of the lesson before continuing a rotation that would eventually have each of us trying out every instrument at least once. We found out that band practices are starting this week too, and though nobody in our class will be joining; this was the first time I actually paid much attention to the news, and Rowen and I are even thinking about sitting in on a couple of practices to find out what it’s like if Mrs. Robinson will let us.

After school, Rowen and I did the snack and daily re-cap with Mom, Ethan, and Ehlana. The twins are sure that they had a more exciting day than we did; and they’re probably right. Their new schedule started today, and the Magi lesson and morning play session with Naomi this morning was the highlight of their day so far. Naomi was going to start spending most Monday and Wednesday mornings with them; and starting this week, Ethan and Ehlana were going to spend Friday mornings with her at the KidZone daycare. That was going to be as much for Mom and for them; and she planned on using her morning off doing the major weekly grocery and supply shopping.

Snack and story time was followed by a homework session in the lounge for Rowen and me; and then we had time to ride our bikes and play at the park for about an hour before splitting up and going home for the night. We didn’t have any guests for dinner, and Ethan, Ehlana, and I liked having Mom and Dad to ourselves for a couple of hours; but Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne came over just as we finished cleaning up. Uncle Adam was doing a Healing lesson with Mom and me, and then Aunt Leanne was going to do some family business work with Mom after that.

Between that Healing lesson; helping with Ethan and Ehlana’s bedtime routine; and doing my own nightly computing, archive and language studies, and a long messaging chat with Rowen; I’ve been keeping busy. It’s going on one o’clock now; and time to get some sleep, so...

...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Cassie's Journal - September 9, 2012

It’s been getting cool at night, which means that we need to dress warm for Tai Chi by the river; but having a cooler day yesterday was good for working, and we’ve had a beautiful, warm Sunday.

That worked out great for Rowen and me; since we were having a play day. Now that summer was over, her parents were cutting back to six days a week at the store too; and we celebrated that with a barbeque lunch at their house that included Rowen’s grandparents, our family, and a few friends.

Not having the store open didn’t mean no work on Sundays for Rowen’s parents anymore than keeping office hours from Monday to Friday meant that my Dad played all weekend. Rowen and I helped with the lunch clean-up, but then we took Ethan and Ehlana to play at the park while our favorite adults all got on with their respective afternoon plans. There were some picnics going on at the park, so there were lots of kids to play with; though that also meant that Ethan and Ehlana had to take shorter turns on the swings, and wait in small queues to go down slides that Rowen and I had to team up for with one of us at each end of the slide. I can tell you for sure that my brother, sister, and I all inherited a streak of daredevil in us. They have no fear of anything at the playground. My own tendencies toward adventure don’t extend to them, though, and I now have a pretty good idea what Mom probably went through with me when I was their age. (And probably still does; considering some of our recent adventures.)

We ended up playing with Ethan and Ehlana straight through until Rowen needed to go home at five; and then I helped Mom, Grandma, and Aunt Leanne with making dinner while Grandpa and Uncle Adam played with Ethan and Ehlana; and Dad finished up his work in the office. The dinner conversation included everything from future plans to upcoming trips to Arizona. After eating and cleaning up, we moved into the living room to watch some television and just enjoy a couple of quiet hours together, and then Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Leanne left when it was time for Ethan and Ehlana to go to bed.

I came up to my room after the twins were tucked in for the night, but I’ve been busy with some Jacuzzi time, and a lot of computing that’s included my usual nightly checks; some archive studying; and an hour immersed in Portuguese. It’s heading toward twelve-thirty; there isn’t anything else to report; and I’ve had enough fun for today, so...

...say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Cassie's Journal - September 8, 2012

We spent the entire day doing yard and house work from the time we finished breakfast until a bit after seven when we wrapped up for the day and had dinner. I’d give you the list of all the work we did, but I’m too tired now to even think about all of it again.

There was time after that for us to play with Ethan and Ehlana, but then I went to soak in my Jacuzzi while Mom and Dad did the bedtime bath and story with them. I’m in bed with Mandy now; Mom and Dad stopped in to say goodnight to me too; I’ve caught up on my email; and once I’m finished writing this, I’m going to be offline for the rest of the night.

I’m done.

Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

Cassie's Journal - September 7, 2012

Happy first birthday, Miles!

Ethan and Ehlana don’t spend much time with Miles Sheldon yet, but he will be a future classmate and friend; and they took a little gift and card over to him this morning after I’d gone to school.

My top school news today is from music class, where we got to spend most of the time experimenting with different instruments. Rowen and I don’t have the musical background that some of our classmates have from private lessons in piano, guitar, or other instruments; but we were both happy to at least manage a few coherent notes on a flute and saxophone respectively. If today’s class was any indication, the school should send warning letters home the first time we’re allowed to sign out instruments, though in my case; I plan on using my wards to spare Mom, Dad, and the twins whenever I can. This is one case where reading the books doesn’t just translate into immediate proficiency.

While we had the most fun during music class, our first Friday of the school year was busy and fun; if not particularly newsworthy. After school, Rowen and I started out our weekend by getting approval for a sleepover at my house. That worked out especially well for me when we found out that our Friday night dinner and a movie was being changed to dinner and a football game at the school.

Yeah, just when I would have liked it to rain all night, the weather decided to cooperate with the football players and fans. It stopped raining a couple of hours before game time. The fact that we ended up watching the home opener tonight was partly my own fault, since I did talk to Mom and Dad about the inevitability of needing to attend a game now and then. They must have decided that it was a little piece of Witch Falls entertainment that I needed to experience sooner instead of later.

That change in plans also meant that we had another easy-dinner night, and then we headed for the school; dressed appropriately for a cool night. My disinterest in football in general didn’t mean that I was oblivious to how popular the home games were. Despite the earlier rain, and rapidly dropping temperature, the bleachers were nearly full. There were concessions being run as a fundraiser for the team selling snacks, drinks, and even a few team souvenirs. We picked up a few things before finding a spot in the bleachers were we could all sit together; and then settled in to wait and chat with the people closest to us for the ten minutes or so we had until the kick-off.

I should probably start by conceding that watching a live game can be more fun than watching a game on television, but that’s as much because of everything that’s going on around the field as the action on the gridiron. Dad, Aunt Leanne, and Uncle Adam all remembered watching games when Lee Landry played for our high school team, and they all thought that watching Kyle Landry playing tonight was like a flashback to those games. I heard quite a few similar comments from other people, and whether it was true or not, everyone seemed to think that Kyle was as good a player as his father had been. That must be a tough reputation to live up to. I sure hope Kyle doesn’t try bench-pressing combines!

Our home opener was against division rival Maple Valley. I was told that these matches are usually fairly competitive, but I wouldn’t exactly say that was the case tonight. We have a defensive team, and though Kyle isn’t a senior; he is undoubtedly the team leader. He plays both sides of the ball sometimes, but it’s on defense that he really shines. Tonight he had two interceptions; two fumble recoveries; and out of those four chances, he scored two defensive touchdowns. I seriously doubt that the Maple Valley quarterback will remember how many times he was sacked tonight. Most guys getting hit that often might have trouble remembering their own name. Even though our team isn’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, when you have great field position at the start of nearly every possession, you don’t need to be spectacular – especially when your opponent isn’t being allowed to score anything except the occasional field goal.

Final score: forty to nine.

We stayed for a bit of the post-game mingling, but didn’t stay too long. Ethan and Ehlana were tired by then; and we all wanted to get home and have hot drinks and a snack. Uncle Adam, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Nick, and Aunt Deborah came back with us for that; and the three couples have been hanging out in the living room since putting Ethan and Ehlana to bed. Rowen and I came up to my room after finishing our cups of hot chocolate and bakery treats; and we’ve been snuggled in bed with Mandy and our computers since then.

I haven’t gotten any extra work done, but that’s mostly because we’re both tired; and other than listening to some music and talking about some of the extra-curricular activities that we saw while at the game; neither one of us is particularly motivated or interested in pulling an all-nighter movie or gaming night. In fact, Rowen’s actually drifting off to sleep as I write this – while her computer is still on and she’s propped up with some pillows. I’d say that’s a sign to tell us that we both need to get some sleep.

Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie; and goodnight to you too, Rowen!”

Cassie's Journal - September 6, 2012

It’s definitely starting to feel like our usual routine is clicking into place today. The return of game night at the Inn to our Thursday night schedule definitely played a part in that, but so did a repeat of our Day Two classes; the second work night of the week for Rowen and me; having Alicia resume her part-time job with Mom; and the easy-dinner night that usually went along with going out to play with our friends on Thursday nights.

There isn’t really much to report from school today. Rowen and I are settling into our work a bit more quickly than some of our classmates; but having Mrs. Warren for a second year does also mean that we all know what to expect – and what she will and won’t put up with in her classroom. While I mentioned already that our subject reviews are speeding along faster this year; we don’t need to do reviews in every class. For instance, we’re not starting out with a keyboarding – or typing – module in computers. It’s assumed that we’re all reasonably proficient now; and we’ve jumped right into learning how to use a fairly cool graphics and animation program. The guys all really like that subject now; since animation is a lot more fun than learning about ones and zeroes; or any of the basic computing we’ve been taught.

A new dynamic that’s showing up this year is the groups of couples that travel together between classes; hanging out together at lunch, and before and after school. It’s not like I haven’t noticed that going on with the teens at school ever since starting here near the end of Grade Four, but it’s definitely more than a little strange for Rowen and I now that it’s hit our class. We talked about it a bit tonight – chatting on our computers after getting home from game night and going to bed. Rowen feels a lot like she did before I moved here; except in reverse. Before, she always felt held back; which we were, and still are. Now we’re the ones behind the rest of our classmates, and while they may all be oblivious to how that makes us feel; it’s something that Rowen and I are thinking about, and dealing with, a lot.

No, I don’t think we’re in imminent danger of crossing over. We’d just like to be able to hang out with the rest of our classmates without the tween drama; wishing we weren’t around for most of the girl talks; and definitely not seeing any of our friends making out around their lockers, or some out-of-the-way corner of the school or yard.

I also really hope that isn’t going to be a daily part of my journal; but it does seem to make the highlights far too regularly over the past few months. Unfortunately, before I change the subject, I should note that there were two additions to the usual kid/teen game night gang. It seems that Vanessa and Nora have suddenly become interested in playing games too; though they haven’t been there even once since Mom and I started going. They made it fairly obvious that the games they were interested in playing didn’t include cards, darts, or the rest; and only required the additional participation of two other contestants – Michael and Tim.

The only reason I mention this is because Aunt Leanne had a few quiet comments for me tonight, and I really wish she’d stop teasing me about Michael – or any other boys. That, more than anything else, has me seriously considering offering to stay home and babysit Ethan and Ehlana instead of going to future game nights. At least she didn’t try to nudge me between Michael and Vanessa; though that might have been more because I made a conscious effort not to be in a position for her to do that.

I’ve written more than enough on that topic. Let’s move on.

The game night championships didn’t come home with anyone in my family – or Rowen’s. Uncle Adam and Aunt Leanne came in third, while Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma were all handicapped from keeping up with two busy little toddlers. Kyle Landry and Doug Warren won the junior championship, with Jake and Stephanie a close second. There were some jokes about the boys using game night as a warm-up for the football game tomorrow night; but I seriously doubt that winning game night will even be a top ten motivator for Kyle or Doug. I’d suggest a couple of possibilities for number one on their lists, but again, I’ve had enough of that sort of thing for one night.

Once we got home again, I did the bedtime routine with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana, and then Mom and Dad went downstairs again to do some work in the office; while I came up to my room and got ready for bed. I’ve already mentioned that Rowen and I were chatting on our computers, but I’ve also been doing my usual nightly computing; some language studies; and an hour of reading in the archives. That’s all added up to yet another late night, so I’m going to wrap this up and shut down my computer.

Say ‘goodnight, Cassie’.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

P.S. If my new journal closing line isn’t familiar to you; Google Burns and Allen. They’re amazing!