The snow shoveling wasn’t really that much work this
morning, but it was cold; and not as much fun as Tai Chi would have been. Getting some time with just Dad and me was
nice even if that was while we worked to clear the driveway, sidewalks,
porches, and the truck and minivan; but we were both still really glad to get
inside once we were done and enjoy the hot drinks and food that Mom had ready
for us by then.
Our last Christmas break day has been fairly quiet; other
than dealing with the weather. It was a
low-key morning at church; partly because there were quite a few absent
families – particularly among the ‘country’ members of our congregation. There aren’t any major problems here in town,
but troubles out on the area farms included everything from keeping livestock
warm in the freezing temperatures to a few power outages. Compared to the other holiday church
services, that made it feel like the sanctuary was half-full; and we didn’t
even do our lesson in Sunday school with a third of our class away today.
My day didn’t exactly liven up after that. The cold kept us indoors; and Ethan, Ehlana,
and I had Mom and Dad to ourselves for most of the day – except for when
Michael, Rowen, and Tim came over for a couple of hours this afternoon to hang
out during Michael’s break from the Inn.
Tim wanted to watch the football games; so Rowen and I mostly just
cuddled with our boys and talked while they watched the end of the first NFL
playoff game of the day between the Chargers and the Bengals.
While I’m on football, Tim also wanted to talk with Michael
about the weight training they’re going to start doing at school in the morning
before classes start. When he found out
that Kyle was going to begin his training tomorrow to get ready for college
football; Tim decided that he and Michael should join his cousin for the
weight-training workouts if they wanted to get serious about playing football
next season for our school team. That’s
going to be tough for Michael, and he already has our Tai Chi every morning
anyway, but even if he isn’t as enthusiastic as Tim is; there’s no way he’d let
his best friend down or leave him without a training partner.
The good news for him is that if he gets sore from those
work-outs; I’ll be able to help him out with a little Magi Healing. He really does want to play football too if
Tim is, and wouldn’t want to miss out on the fun if Tim happened to make the
team and he didn’t; so his motivation isn’t totally for Tim – just most of it.
Moving along, Michael headed back to the Inn
as soon as that first football game was over; and Rowen and Tim left too –
mostly because Tim wanted to get somewhere to watch the second game. I didn’t go to the Inn tonight because it was
going to be very quiet there anyway; and I wanted to stay at home, get ready
for school tomorrow, and be in bed early.
I also wanted to get set up for my next language studies by rounding up
everything I’ll need for the first month or so of my studies.
Between now and the end of the school year, I’m going to be
studying the Dravidian languages, including Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. It’s just a coincidence that Grandma and
Grandpa are in India as I’m starting this next language group, since my study
plan was put together long before they booked this trip; but it does make it
more interesting for me. Maybe they’ll
even meet some kids or teens for me to be chat partners with when I’m ready to
start practicing my verbal skills.
Since we are back to school in the morning, it was time to
get back to my usual nightly computing, but skipping some play time in the
kitchen at the Inn allowed me to do all of that work after dinner; a Magi
lesson with Mom; and enjoy some quality time with my Jacuzzi. Once I have this finished; I’ll be heading
off to sleep.
There isn’t much to add for upcoming events this week. Violet and Dillon will be home sometime
tomorrow; and will spend the rest of their break here in Witch Falls. The rest of our first week back to school
will mostly just be getting back into the normal routine. Game night will be back on Thursday; Michael,
Tim, Rowen and I will be going with the same study night rotation; and dinner
and a movie night will likely be back on Friday again if for no other reason
than because it’ll be our last chance for some family time with Violet and
Dillon before they head back to school on the weekend. Gretchen’s having her thirteenth birthday
party on Saturday, and that’s going to be fun because she’s going with a shopping,
lunch, and matinee day in Crystal
Springs. She isn’t inviting everyone for that because
of the driving issues; but Michael, Tim, Rowen, and I are invited.
I’m glad this will be a quiet weekend at the Inn, or Michael
and I might have needed to skip the party – especially since Jake and Stephanie
head back to New York
on Saturday too. I’d like to have more
time to spend with all of our favorite college teens; but they’ll all be busy
with their families and friends this week; so there won’t be many chances for
that. I know it’s time to just get used
to all of that, but I’m not; though I’d never trade going back to just Mom and
me over the few drawbacks to having so many people to love – like missing them
when we have to be apart.
Nearly everyone in Witch Falls
would likely find it very strange that I never even experienced that during the
first nine years of my life – missing anyone.
Wishing for a happy-ever-after family isn’t the same, though now that I
think about it, that was still something I was wishing for when we moved here;
so maybe the Witch
Falls magic helped to
make that wish come true!
Feel free to work that into your magic history stories,
Miranda – maybe people will start tossing coins over the falls and making
wishes or something.
Anyway, I’ve had enough for today, and really do want to get
a decent night of rest ahead of our first week of classes in the New Year,
so...
...Live long and prosper, fellow Magi of the Light!
