January 1st, 2012: New Year's Day

The new year, 2012, had begun as kisses were exchanged in the Bourne household, with the Gould Family, Betsy, Steven, and Mrs. and Mr. Gould. They had come for a party, and had had one on New Year's Eve, with us. We had done a play, eaten some dinner, and we had seen the ball drop. Now, as the first few minutes of the new year passed by, we talked, all very tired and pooped out. It was 12:04 for goodness sakes, who wouldn't be exhausted? And who wouldn't be after dinner, games, numerous fun skits and change of clothes? Steven and Betsy, it seemed. Rebecca too. They went outside on the front porch as the owls hoed, and yelled Happy New Year to the people in the neighborhood across the street. One neighbor had sparklers, big ones he was dancing around with. The red and orange flames of the sticks glowed in the distance, setting off bright color to the once dismal and depressed dark houses. The glow of the fire and midnight moon made each other glisten as the calendars, clocks and watches changed instantly. We went back downstairs, and I got to the last chapter in Redwall, too tired to read yet another word. Mrs. Gould wanted her children to help pick up and clean all the costumes and props up into the places they go, because they had helped to make the mess. Mom pardoned them, we were too tired to clean it up, we would do it later. We walked them out, Dad and I did while Rebecca went into her room, and when they got out of earshot I said to Dad that I was tired and that I was going to bed right away. And I did. Didn't even brush my teeth or put on my PJ's. Talked to Mom as she tucked me in about it being a new year, and then when the light turned off, so did my brain. I slept soundly, having no dreams at all, for at least 9 hours, and woke up in my bed. I heard activity upstairs, and I finished the last chapter of Redwall, reading the last part, and then going upstairs.

It had been a good book. I saw Mom on her reclining chair in the bedroom, Dad having already gone with Marco's working around the house. Rebecca was fast asleep. I wanted to go to church as we spoke about the new year, and then I took a shower and dressed in a collared shirt and khaki pants. As I got ready, I was amazed that with the Gould's it wasn't last night, it was the same morning, in the same day. Weird to ponder about, you know. I felt good even though I had been sick earlier in the day (at 12), and I felt really wanting to go to church, to see a service on the first day of the new year. And I love church. So, not waking Rebecca, we both crept downstairs (Mom and I, Dad was gonna work out in the yard that day), and said we would eat when we returned, as we were not hungry. We drove in the suburban to church, Bible in hand. It was very crowded. We parked the car and walked on the front steps, having a little mother-to-son time. We then walked in, and were greeted by the people at the door who said Happy New Year. After that we got programs from the ushers as we said hello to people we knew, and we walked in. We then found a seat, in one of the front rows, right in the center pew section in front of the pulpit. There were A LOT of people there, even though it was New Year's Day, and most people had had parties and were tired. It was "a pleasant surprise" as Pastor Mike later said. We sat by the Benders, the people who in earlier blogs saw our R.V. and were shown a camaro. They were nice as we talked of last night, and some other things of that matter. I saw the Howell's and Zach with them, a section down, only a little ways away. I went over and said hello to the Howell family. It was another pleasant surprise, I had not seen Zach since the day before Christmas Eve. He actually volunteered to sit with us for the service, and we made room for him as he came over. We talked about presents we got for Christmas and what we did on the special day. Zach said he got a hat from a cartoon that his sister made, and also a video game called "Legend of Zelda." The service then started.

Songs, benediction, and ones that I really liked. During one, Zach wrote on a new members card that as an experiment he was singing an octave lower. We sang great uplifting songs of praise, ones that said to glorify the Lord. Then came good announcements, and a few other things, like a prayer and offerings. Then Pastor Mike made a sermon about how nobody really keeps their new year's resolutions, that we needed to start a plan of doing a new solution, not just a re- solution, but a new solution, making a plan and schedule, and he listed things you could do for God, like going to church more, tithing a little more, going out on a missionary trip, and other kind of those things. It was empowering and good, and Zach and I talked but little. When we did he asked if he could come to my house, and I said maybe, but we had to leave for my grandparents at like two or three. As the choir sung songs, Mike made great points in his sermon, and funny ones too, Zach and I listened. I was glad he sat with us. It was good to talk and be with my good friend. The sermon ended on a powerful note as the people came up with the bread and grape juice, having bowls and the ushers and members of the church holding them. Pastor Mike and his wife held one. We had communion, going into the line for Pastor Mike. He gave us the little bit of bread and we dipped it in grape juice, as Mike said, "This is the body of Christ shed for you," and his wife said, "This is the blood of Christ shed for you, Andrew" and she said the same thing to Zach with his name in place of mine. It tasted good.

Later as everyone dispersed, The Howell Family and some others came down close to the alter, talking to Mike and some other people. Mom was talking with some ladies who didn't know we came back as I went down with Zach. When Mom finished talking with those people, I asked about Zach coming over. Zach had been earlier talking to his sister Maggie, who made the hat from the cartoon for him. Mrs. Howell was fine with it, and everything was arranged. He was to stay at our house until 2 or 3, and then we would take him home on way to Ma Poc and Pop. Zach got his leather jacket as they went out (The Howell's did, not including Zach) as we stayed for a minute. Then we went to our car. In the service, Rebecca had called and texted me twice, and I called her back. She said she woke up and no one was there, and so she was scared. I told her the situation, what we had been doing. Then we drove back to the house. Zach and I got out, and went inside to the den area. He went to the bathroom, as we saw Rebecca watching T.V. Zach got out, and we talked in the room a while before deciding to go outside. Mom asked us as we went downstairs if we wanted lunch yet. Our answer was no. Lunch was for kids. And we, were not. We were tweens! Grrrr! Go tweens! Whoo-hooo! Just kidding. Mom was content though. She was watching football.

We went outside, and were pestered by an annoying fairy who later tried to kill us with his ogre army. Then he said the person who made him get us was named Nebucanezer as we pinned him to the ground. That guy was so annoying and weird. His ogres stayed in the big fat oaks of my front yard, and sadly I had to cut them down to kill them. Then we got stuck in a labyrinth as Zach got the wooden knight sword (got it for Christmas) and the wooden pirate sword. He used the latter and I the former. We fought our way through, and then finished that part. We pretended to hear a cry off in the distance, and flew giant doves that led us to yet another fairy, that was stuck in a spider's web in a bush. We helped it out, carefully removing it. It is a very delicate process. She was less than grateful though. Nobody thanks the heroes. Oh well. Hey, I got to ask you something. You know all of this has been in a game right? Yeah the ogres and fairies were fake. Don't look surprised. I know you knew. Oh you didn't? Seriously? Come on! Oh, sorry. Anyway, well I was talking we PRETENDED they were there. Fairies really are real? Whatever you say.... Man, can you believe that guy believes in fairy tale creatures? What a bum.

We had used orange plastic guns, and metal cylinders as weapons, also pistols. We then played that horsemen stampeded us and I knew their language. We were captured and asked of who we were, and we gave them false info. We played that part in the screened in porch. Then we were led to the little bedroom as our guest chamber, and almost killed by a jaguar under our bed, and lava and spikes. Now THAT is bad hospitality. We got our weapons back, knocked out the guards to our room, and then ran away and got horses. Guys with machetes and cutlasses tried to take us down. We rode all the way away, as we saw Rebecca was spying on us. She came out into the yard, and we ran away and hid in the garage, behind a window. She came in and said she meant no harm, that she wanted to play with us. So we then played that we fought all the evil guards and men, and killed their leader. Then we took all their prisoners and put them in a bus or plane or ship or something like that, and made them go to the closest hospital. After that we played that a lightning strike made us go into an alternate future, that everything was all destroyed and dark and dreary, and people fought against their neighbors on a regular basis, that it was all caused by Obama. Sorry, but I had to use somebody that made it happen and the first person I could think of was Obama. He probably won't do anything THAT terrible, he looks like an okay guy. Anyway, we played that until Mom called us in for lunch, and we watched a little Men In Black while eating.

After the lunch, (that even being tweens we eventually ate) we went outside by the back porch swings and played a game called Grandma, where one person goes in front of the "cars"(people in the swings) trying to dodge them. When they get hit the person who hits them switches places with them. It's called Grandma because you become different characters, including a grandma. Also you are supposed to go very slow. I get bored at it, being that it is easy to tag the people, it can be dangerous, and it just never gets new and exciting. We played that for a while, much to my reluctance, and I was counting the games until we could stop. Then, sadly, Mom said to get Zach's stuff all ready to go, he was about to leave. We got his jacket and stuff all together, and we got in the car and drove him home. We dropped him off and wished he had had a good time, and that I hoped I would see him again. Then we drove away as he got inside his house. We then drove to Canton, to Soleil, to Ma Poc and Pop's house. As we entered Ma Pocwas hard at it, already taking down ornaments on the tree and putting them in their boxes. We helped her, putting the gold and red balls, and icicles, all in. Next we put the bigger ones that were individual in, placing them carefully and carelessly (it depended on the ornament) into the little square spots for them, in the cardboard. We said hello to Pop and MaPoc as we related and compared our church services for the day, what both our preachers said. New Year's resolutions was a subject also. The icicles were very hard to find, hiding in the branches, camouflaging. After we got them all we got the lights off and out. We then sat down, everyone.

For the next two hours, maybe longer, we sat and talked, eating a with a dip, which consisted of pretzels and salsa and a chicken dip. Very good. Thanks Ma Poc. I really appreciated it.

We watched a muted football game a little, and talked about places they had been to, that we would enjoy. We kind of had relaxed conversations, in a dreamily kind of attitude. Good conversations though. Talking to Ma Poc about a book called "A Nod to God" and Pop & Rebecca conversing about a Natural Disasters book. Also with Pop, I went outside with him on his back patio and he flipped with dusty old leafy pages in a scrap that included his name in it, pictures of him in his football and him in a mystery play where he was the humor relief, a salesman who had a catchy tune which was: "Yes Yes for business deals or marriage hopes, leave it to Billy for he knows the ropes .Yes yes when a deal is getting hot Billy is always on the spot!"

We saw his pictures with his team, looking handsome, young, and dashing. I looked to the old and now Pop. He looked vaguely the same. Sentences were marked, and news articles taken out. It was very interesting. We didn't find what we were looking for, the picture of him at Mammoth Cave, where he went as a boy scout and we went on the trip. He put it back as Mom showed him a brochure she had saved from Mammoth, and he looked through it. Ma Poc volunteered to feed us, but we were going to get dinner at a home.

We took down the tree in parts and put it in the plastic bags, then moving them to the garage. With difficulty, Mom got on the ladder and was handed the bags, and put them up, moving and being held by people below her. Also being close to falling down, and helped out. Parts of tree and leafs came out of the bags, hitting us who were holding her up and giving her the tree parts. We got the boxes and bags up though, and then took the ladder back down. We went inside and relaxed. It was a good, simple fun time. We left soon afterwards. We said goodbye to them. We got home and had some left overs for dinner, nothing much. We went to bed early too. It was a good day. We had a great church sermon, played with Zach, and talked to and conversed with my grandparents. It was a good start to a year that will probably be one of the best in my life.

Yes yes for writing blogs or doing a movie, leave it to Andrew for he is so groovy! Yes yes when a sheet is plain Andrew makes the words come like rain!

Andrew.