A Season for Everything

At 4:00 this morning, I suited up (Seriously, I needed protection for this.) and cautiously gave Megan a gentle poke. With a very long stick. If you think I jest, trust me when I tell you there is little else as dangerous a 13 year old who’s had far from enough sleep. Surly, snarly, rabid little beasties, I tell ya!

The entire eighth grade, looking like hollow-eyed refugees, was herded onto coaches at 5:00 carrying what looked like all their earthly posessions. Megan alone had a blanket, a pillow, a backpack/purse kind of thing, her walkman, DVDs for on the bus, a stuffed animal, a camera and a tote bag with enough food and drinks to keep a small third-world country alive for a month. Now multiply that by 200 or so and you begin to get the picture. The teachers are toting, too.

Not all of the eighth grade went to the same place. One team (our middle school uses a weird team system) is in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor touring the National Aquarium. It’s where Megan dearly wishes she was. So, now you know she isn’t. No, woe is us and could life just be any more unfair? Megan is in……..

Gettysburg. Home of Lincoln’s famous address. Site of the Civil War’s bloodiest battle. The whole town and surrounding area is basically one huge museum. Historic stuff is tucked in everywhere. I don’t think you can find another town (outside of Washington, D.C.) that has more statues and monuments. History is not Megan’s thing. We tried our best to put a positive spin on it, but what she’s most looking forward to is the bus trip and shopping for something for Matthew, who is a huge Civil War buff (he did his senior project on Gettysburg).

The bus is due back between 8:00-8:30 tonight. I imagine she will emerge looking just as tired and bedraggled as she did this morning, but I think she will have had fun inspite of herself.