Now Playing: The Rookie

Look at those puppies!

On my ninth birthday, a Friday at the start of 2002, I went to Dad's house for the weekend.  I was so excited that I could choose what we would do that night.  I wanted to see the new movie Snow Dogs, which came out that day, specifically because of the dogs.  I loved dogs so much that I wished for a puppy every Christmas (and I mean every Christmas).

So that night we all (Jeanmarie, Dad, Lucy, Buddy, Brooke, Madelyn, baby Kelly and I) went to Dairy Queen for ice creams then headed to the movie theater to watch Snow Dogs. There were grumblings and complaints but Dad simply told my siblings, "It's Melanie's birthday, so she decides what we see." The ability to choose was a power I was not accustomed to when at Dad's house, so I reveled in my chance to do exactly what I wanted. And in my opinion, I made a good choice.  That movie was awesome, my new favorite. It was an exceptionally good day.

The year 2002 meant I was in fourth grade.  There was this boy in my fourth grade class named Devon, and for some reason that I do not at all understand, he really liked me. A lot. As in, he followed me around every recess, he always talked to me, he tried to hit me with the ball when we played sports during PE, etc. etc. Anyway, he drove me nuts because I thought he was really weird, and boys were dumb and scary at the same time, and they were just gross in general. But he continued to follow me around and pretend that we were "together" even though I never said a word to him. So one day in March I was at home and the phone rang. Mom answered it and said it was for me. Devon called me. At home. He called me. How humiliating. Ew ew ew. I was not very happy but I was giggling like crazy because I was nervous. So I said the customary "Hello?" and he proceeded to ask me to go to his birthday party. Gah! I didn't know what to do, and I really didn't want to go. But I just said "Ok!" then practically threw the phone at my mom before I ran upstairs to my room. Because I had ended our conversation prematurely and thus didn't know any details about said party, my mom ended up having to call his mom and ask about the particulars. Turns out it was a fancy schmancy party that included me, him, and his best friend, Kevin.  Just. The. Three. Of. Us. Oh and his family.  His whole family. How would you like to meet the parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles of a kid who proposes to you once a week, and you're nine years old?? Yeah, I wasn't too happy about my situation.

Anyway, the day of the party came and I threw a fit (I assume) about not wanting to go but of course my mother made me (per usual) and told me "It'll be fun!" (per usual). So I got on a dressy outfit that I wore to our family Christmas party once and I climbed into that dumb kid's mother's minivan and away we went. First we went to a fancy schmancy seafood restaurant which was completely awful because the only, only food I cannot eat is any type of seafood. I think I ended up eating some plain pasta. Following that terrifying meal we went to the movie theater to watch the brand-new baseball movie, The Rookie. (Overall, The Rookie is a fantastic film that I have watched many-a-time; I have nothing against it. But that day I was so horrified by my circumstances that I was ready to yell at Dennis Quaid to stop being so sad and get off the screen!) (Luckily I didn't do that.)

Dennis looking very pensive. . .

Eventually, however, the film did end and we all went through the "Did you like it? Yeah it was pretty good!" routine. But then, gag, we had to go back to his house and do the whole presents thing. I got him a gift card to Barnes & Noble because I had no clue what he liked (besides me, I guess). (Like I said, I had hardly ever said a word to the kid.) When he opened it he was all "Oh, cool. Thanks. I like to read." and I was all "Dang it. He likes my present." It was after this fiasco that I finally got returned to my home. He didn't leave me alone for the rest of the year. In fifth grade I think he got bored of me and finally went away. Thank goodness for that.

On April 30th my little sister Kelly turned one year old. She was so adorable, but a lot of work. We all learned to change diapers, do laundry, feed her bottles, and more. Jeanmarie determined that with so many kids in the house, we should take the brunt of the responsibilities.  This idea also meant that we were drafted into the Cleanliness War, whose slogan was "Paint Walls, Pull Weeds, Scrub Floors, Wash Windows, and Never Ever Mess Up." When you messed up, you got yelled at.  If you cried, you got yelled at more because crying was against the rules. This was the hardest for me, because I was very sensitive as a little girl and prone to free-flowing tears. It was a painful time of my life, but I was steadily becoming tougher.

That summer, on June 1st, my family life changed dramatically. My mom and Jerry got married, and we all couldn't be happier. After three years of being a single mother, Mom found a husband who loves and cherishes her continually. As I mentioned before, Jerry was a family friend so he wasn't new to us, and Brooke, Madelyn and I welcomed him happily and even gratefully. We had a father figure in our mother's home, who loved us and never spanked or spoke cruelly. He was there for us when we needed him—for a hug, for a listening ear, for popcorn and M&Ms, etc. etc. In all, we became a stable family unit, the kind that my sisters and I missed when we were at Dad's house.

During Christmas break, we continued our tradition of going to Las Vegas. The new Lord of the Rings movie came out that week, so Brooke, Justin, and Kevin ran off to their movie theater while Mom, Jerry, Madelyn, and I decided what movie to watch. Mom settled on Pinocchio, a new foreign film. Exciting, right? Though I might enjoy it now (especially since I actually know Italian nowadays), I was frustrated during that entire film. The actors were speaking in Italian with English dubbed over, so the words being spoken were not in sync with the movements of the actors' mouths. That tormented me throughout the movie. I couldn't understand why the film was made in a different language if we were going to be watching it in English. It just didn't seem logical. It seemed ridiculously annoying, actually. Anyway, I'm sure I got over it relatively quickly, what with the excitement of Vegas and all.
Seriously, there were arcades and swimming pools. Very exciting stuff.

And so it goes.

Love, Me