I've always been a fan of holidays. They're the perfect excuse to cook a meal with my dad and gather around the table for good conversation with everyone I love the most. It's really a shame that we don't get to spend the winter holiday at home this year. I'm really worried that each day I spend with Grandfather will be the last one. What if I return home in June and he's already forgotten who I am? We're going to miss out on a lot.
My mouth waters whenever I think about the gingerbread cookies that mum makes every year. I don't even so much like the taste of them as I do the aroma. Oh, and decorating. I normally spend a good deal of time decorating the house, with mum following me around and trying to help. She's never been good at making things straight or symmetrical. She knows that I can't have things any other way, so the wisest thing to do is let me handle it. It's known in the MacKee household that no one can string up Christmas lights like I can. I prefer to keep things simple and classy. Less is more.
When I think of Christmas, three things promptly enter my mind. Baking, decorating, and music. I've always listened to Bing Crosby for weeks straight come Christmas time. I'm really going to miss my record collection this year. Dad insists I should update to other means, like the other muggle kids have, but I'm attached to my record player and don't plan of giving it the boot anytime soon. I really wish I could fall asleep to Sinatra's Witchcraft on Christmas Eve this year.
Since I can't go home, I've resorted to teaming up with Kate and Claire and we've decorated our dorm. It's lovely. I keep three candles in my windowsil. They're perfect to read by when the other girls have gone to bed and they're rather aesthetically pleasing, I'd say. As I only claim one small portion of this room, I could only dictate how my own place was to be adorned, but they've done a pretty swell job. I did adjust Claire's a little, but she's never been one to notice things like that. It's made me feel a little better about being couped up in that place over Christmas. I've already wrapped a few random gifts I had gotten for certain people over the summer and I've put them under my bed for safe keeping until it gets closer to Christmas. I've got Claire, Kate, Lorcan, and a couple more taken care of. I don't suppose I can get any more unless I ask mum to shop for me. Maybe I'll do a little brainstorming and send her a list.
I've been keeping correspondence up with mum and dad. Even moreso since the incident we had back in October. Mum had found out about it and sent an owl before everyone was even situated into the hospital wing or their respective houses. I don't like talking about the fact that I didn't go on the trip. I've had enough ridicule to last the rest of my life. However long that might be.. I told her about the ball and she sent me a few catalogs to look through. I hadn't bought a dress for that sort of occasion, but I found the perfect one, and a mask to match it. I'm extremely pleased with it. No one's asked me to the ball yet, but that isn't much to worry over. It isn't for a while. Plus that seems to be the occurence with most everyone, as I've heard. While all of that might be true, I imagine I might be one of the last few left without a date or even an inquiry as to whether I've gotten one yet. Not surprising. I'm used to it by now, of course.
Thanks to Lorcan, I'm getting a lot better at quidditch practices. I don't know what I was thinking, taking this on. I'm no good. I'm just embarrassing myself more than necessary. James Potter is probably right about me. Mum and Dad send encouraging words on that subject and I've promised to keep them up to date on my progress. It's certainly slow, but it is happening. Mum was always terrified of flying and she never got on a broom after her first year, but Dad insists that he'd have played quidditch were he a wizard. Grandfather was a spectacular quidditch player. At least that's what he's always told me. I always wanted to be like that, but I tend to trip over a broom easier than mounting one. Fortunately, that's changed.
All negative things considered, this Holiday can be salvaged and I plan on contributing to that as much as I can. The countdown has begun. Twenty days to Christmas.
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