Category: Bits and Pieces

Grief, pain, sadness. All of these feelings are coursing through the veins of people across the world. Today we are all in Paris. Today we are all French. We mourn the loss of hundreds of innocent people. We send thoughts toward the friends and family of the dead and wounded. We hope for the quick recovery of all survivors. Recovery of physical and emotional pain. The world is grieving, the world is on its guard, and the world is shaken. Together we can mourn and then rebuild. My thoughts go to all suffering in France.

We peer around the corner. There it is, the list. Dreaded, expected, excited. We rush to it. There they are, twelve names. One belongs to me. The Junior Varsity 2015-16 girl’s basketball team. I made it. My friends made it. We made it together. The click of a phone camera. A squeal or two. And we rush back around the corner.

My cousins think I’m a vampire. I’m pale as a ghost, practically transparent. At least that’s what my family thinks. Apparently I have sharp canine teeth, close to fangs. I drink Kool-Aid just to freak them out. I’m a vampire on Halloween, and I can’t wait. Happy Halloween to all the other monsters out there. 🙂

October whispers goodbye as cold, dark hands wrench it away. It is long gone, in the claws of winter. But in two days, the night will stretch as far as it can, on it’s tippy toes so that Halloween night lasts till dawn. What with chocolate, hard candies, mints, and pastries, our stomach aches will keep us up half the night anyhow. Halloween breathes down my neck, icy cold and yet warm and soothing. It’s looks say “Stay out!” but it’s voice says “Come in.” Now I will blink a few times and November will be here. Only a few leaves left. Which will be the last one standing?

If you go to Buffalo Wild Wings, beware of screaming fans. Beware of flaming wings. And if you are like me, bring a book. Or your phone. Yeah… At least my brother is paying. 😏

One candle: A baby girl with blue cake and blue eyes
Two candles: A cheerful toddler with a brother “Coming Soon!”
Three candles: An attention hogging toddler who starred in every home video
Four candles: A clumsy athlete flying down the soccer field with future friends
Five candles: A girl who has made lots of friends in this Pre-K class
Six candles: A kindergartener who sits at the Triangle table
Seven candles: A golden birthday year
Eight candles: A writer-in-training makes three close friends and begins to play basketball
Nine candles: A swimmer, basketballer, and now the author of her own blog
Ten candles: School has lost it’s wonder, but sports are still a highlight. However SIGNET was the best part of the day.
Eleven candles: More and more basketball, more and more writing, and now singing in All County Chorus.
Twelve candles: A middle schooler with great friends, teachers, and teammates.

Thirteen candles: A basketballer, volleyballer, writer, and singer. A girl who is happy to be here with her friends. A girl who is finally a teen.

A girl who loves her family.

Fridays are for ice cream, screaming, cheering, and playing basketball. Fridays are for no tests, easy work, fun games. Yes, I know this is a stretch. Friday is after all still a school day. But Fridays are not for being late, tests and papers, notes, fire drills, textbooks, and doodling because you’re bored out of your wits. Friday. Yay. It wasn’t terrible, just not a good Friday. Especially because if the date. 9/11.

I’m dying on the inside. Everybody knows their homerooms. Classes. But I’m clueless. I’m anxious. I’m waiting. I can’t wait. I’m excited and scared. I need my schedule. Well, not literally. But I’m so ecstatic to know, I’m sitting on the edge of my seat. It’s almost here. My class schedule.

Eight little legs scuttling along.

The airbag explodes with a bang.

A jagged cliff with rapids down below.

Dirt piles onto the coffin, screams still emitting from the box.

The small metal box that begins to close.

An elevator plummets, four stories at a time.

Flames lick the building, burning everything inside.

So you may have noticed some changes in this blog over the past few weeks. The biggest change is the icon on the top of my blog page. I’d like to explain this icon and share a little bit about why it’s there.

I designed this icon myself, for this year’s National Book Festival. When I heard that theme was “I Cannot Live Without Books” I was beyond excited. Then, I thought it would be cool if I had a shirt with a logo for my website. So I drew a rough draft and a friend of my mom’s turned it into this amazing icon. Then my Grandpa uploaded it to the site.

I can’t wait to see if my t-shirt brings in more readers. If not, I will still be happy. Either way, I cannot wait for the National Book Festival.