Francis-Boy's 12th Birthday
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Frances’ 12th birthday that bitterly cold morning. The big guy was growing fast enough that Collette knew he would probably be taller than her by the end of the summer and then perhaps would have caught up with Joe by the year after or so.
The family would celebrate his birthday on Saturday after his basketball game… perhaps on Sunday if he was still too tired on Saturday afternoon. He had just been elected patrol leader in his Scout troop which required him to attend his first PLC meeting that night. And Friday night he would be on the Scout ski trip. So there was nothing to do but wait until Saturday for the celebration, and hopefully be joined by both grandmas.
At the office that day, Rosemary was wearing her new gift (a compilation gift of the past twenty years of birthdays, Valentine’s Days, Mother’s Days and any other important days) – a large diamond ring with a chunky sapphire set in the top. She and Quintus has also just booked a cruise to Alaska for June.
And Ivy had brought in a box of donuts that morning – more sweet sugary temptation.
“You want a donut, Jimmy?” Ivy asked him as he walked by.
“Did you call me a donut?” Jimmy asked, looking for trouble, “A big blue donut?” He looked down at his blue sweatshirt, thoughtfully.
Ivy just sighed. “Ever since I told you you looked like a pumpkin…”
That was a year and a half ago – when Jimmy had been wearing a big orange sweatshirt. Jimmy wouldn’t let Ivy forget it either.
Later, Loraine popped in to go out with Ivy for lunch and began telling them about the after-effects of the Super Bowl party with all of the junior and senior high. This included Cheez Whiz on the ceiling and a broken light switch plate in the basement. Likely yet another good reason not to have a junior high Super Bowl party.
During the afternoon, Collette hurried through her lunch, only to realize all too late, that she had managed to bring with her the equivalent of a Mountain Dew in non-brand-name form. She drank it anyway, despite the high caffeine content. After all, hadn’t Grandma Snicketts gone through fifty dozen pitchers of iced tea the summer before Uncle Balthasar had been born? Yes, he was a cranky baby from all the caffeine in-take. But Collette decided that one can of caffeinated beverage would not do any damage. Although baby seemed to roll around a bit more after the fact… likely her imagination.
By 2:45 in the afternoon, Collette had a headache.
Collette also called Frances during her lunch break, to wish him a happy birthday. He celebrating with a day off of school and by crafting monstrously ridiculous rollercoasters on Rollercoaster Tycoon with Linnea.
Meanwhile, the Scout ski trip for Friday night would include more than merely Scouts, with Joe, Rose, and Frances, Wallace, Starr, and Chester, Curly and Izzy, Lollipop, and various others. Collette only hoped that Rose (who had never skied) would not wander off somewhere (as she was prone to do) and break a leg going down a slope not even designated for skiing in the first place. As long as she didn’t do anything that might land her in the lodge drinking hot chocolate for the rest of the evening, due to some injury, minor or major, everything would likely be OK in the end.
In preparation for the big event, Mom was making plans to create mammoth pots of chili should everyone eat over at the house before heading out in the green slug.
The things those kids got to do during their high school years… Collette’s recollection of her own high school years, such a short time ago, had been primarily school, music, and more school, with an occasional social event. The final semester of her senior year had been a highly-stressed four months of college and the despicable bank. Working over full-time every week, including every Saturday (except for her actual graduation day) on top of studying madly for CLEP examinations and trying to prepare for graduation and only a year away from her wedding, provided for a very difficult way to end her years in high school.