Wednesday, July 2, 2008

I Was Never This Confident at 12

The Mooster, our 12 year old niece, arrived yesterday. The brave thing flew over the ocean all by herself with her lacrosse stick in tow. (Lacrosse being a sport which, according to Hubster, was invented by the British. He really is full of it most days, isn't he?)

It was very strange to find my sister standing in the arrivals area. It took me a second to realize that it was really Mooster I was seeing. Why hadn't anyone told me how much she's come to look like her mother? I wanted to cry and jump up and down at the same time.

Here was my sister's child. My sister's oldest child. Beautiful and confident, acting as if it was every day she flew internationally, telling me about all the people she met since leaving the US only hours before.

Did I mention how much she's like my sister?

When I asked her if she slept on the plane, she said, "No, no. I never sleep on planes."

When I asked her if she was tired, "No, no. I'm great as long as there's sunlight."

I love the way a 12 year old tries to defy the natural laws of jet lag.

The rest of the day, she kept asserting that she wasn't tired. No, not her, she didn't get tired. No really, she was fine. Not tired at all. No ma'am. Not tired. Nope. Not at all. Not sleepy.

I left her for a little bit to attack the jungle of weeds growing around my carrots in the garden. When I came back to the house an hour later, I found her sound asleep on the couch.

I left her there for a while and when 4 o'clock rolled around, I woke her the same way I always used to wake my sister when she would nap on our parents' couch.

"Mooster. Mooooooster, " I said while tickling her feet. "Time to come play."

Luckily for me, she didn't wake up the same way my sister usually did, i.e. first telling me to stop it and when I wouldn't, start shouting my name, demanding to be left alone, and then finally jumping from the couch, threatening physical violence, chasing me away.

Perhaps it's a touch of her father that Mooster didn't do that too.

Regardless, it's nice having her here already.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Was too invented by us. I'm totally with hubster on this one. Didn't you read Mallory Towers and The Twins at St. Ives? Tsk, tsk, no chocolate hob nob for you

Dig said...

That's it! I'm off to Wikipedia this whole thing and get myself some hob nobs! And H, I think you are now, without a doubt, Hubster's favourite of my imaginary friends!

Mooster said...

it's not my dqd who gave me the ability of sezlf control but he did help i learned it all by my self!!!!!

Diane said...

I had no idea that the British were descended from the Cherokee Nation.

Unknown said...

OK, OK, so we "invented" modern women's lacrosse several centuries after its real "invention", but us Brits have to stick together so anything the Hubster says I'm going to agree with ;)

Sue said...

I am certain that it was twenty years of domination atMt. Hebron HS that reinvented womens lax into the brutal sport that we know it today. I type this as my 17 year old puts her stuff to go to the beach by the door...lax stick in hand.

Sue said...

Just a comment on the sibling thing...make sure you watch a movie with Mooster. You will find that your sister is sitting in the room with you...
Love ya DiDi!

Dig said...

The best part is hearing Mini-Husband asking Mooster to play with him and his new "racquet." I think I see a new club forming in the village. Can someone send us about 10 more sticks?

Diane said...

I think you can pick up a team load of sticks when you are here in August. In fact, I think your (or Sue's) old wooden stick is around here. Looks more like a racquet, so they may do better with it.

hubster dave said...

i just like winding her up, letting go and then watching her fly !!!