Sleepovers

You know, its a good thing that I like sleepovers because I have been
having A LOT these past weeks. For me, sleepovers center around the
novelty of sleeping over at someone elses house for a change. But whats
the appeal for the girls who have gone on so many sleepovers that the
novelty wears off? Do they just do it to get out of their house? To
watch movies? Be with their friends? All of these good reasons, don't
get me wrong, but I have to wonder when sleepovers become a normal
every-day thing, instead of a rare treat.

The reason I bring this up is that recently, my sister and I have been
practically living at our friend's house, and she at ours. We have a
perfectly good and well used excuse. We will be leaving in February to
go get our boat and sail it back to NZ, and that will take MONTHS. So
these weeks may be the last we will get to see of each other for at
least half a year. (he he he)

In the last half century, girl sleepovers haven't changed much. Sure the
technology and subjects have changed, but not the general idea. Music,
movies, dress-up and junk food. 8-) What do you think about when you
think of sleepovers? I think about staying up late, falling to sleep on
crumbs, stuffy and hot rooms, good movies, Monopoly, other board games,
pillow fights, "whats your secret" games, chocolate, junk food and loud
music. :-) Sleepovers may change as girls get older, but all you are
really adding is a growing interest in boys, scary movies, and clothes.
Oh, and make-up. I may have a biased view because my older sister is
about as teenagery as you can get.

There is a whole other side to this, the parent's view. I have often
wondered what other kids' parents think when they learn their darling
offspring are bringing over a friend or two. Or three. Do they feel an
impending sense of doom? Do they stock-up on ear plugs? Do they rent a
hotel room on the other side of town? Do they sigh a long suffering sigh
and lock their bedroom door? Do they turn white and pray? ( This can
vary depending on the type of kid and parent.) The reason I said "other
kids' parents" is that my parents, or more strictly my Mom, have no
trouble what so ever telling me what they think. Their view is something
like this. " Sure, bring 'em over, but no boys, drugs, cigarettes, and
leaving the house. Lights out at 10:00 and if we hear a peep past
midnight you'll be grounded till your 30." In other words, my parents
are very relaxed about the whole issue.

So what do girls really do at sleepovers boys? Ha! Wouldn't you like to
know.

Big Changes

I have a huge amount of variety in my life, overall. Since I turned 10, I have never been in the same country for more than a year, at most a year and a half. My sisters and parents are ALL polar opposites to each other, and I have changed schooling methods 3 times. I have very little contact with my blood family aside from my grandparents, but I have countless "adopted" family members. I have eaten food from at least 4 different countries without a bad reaction, and we have changed cars 3 times in the last 4 years. For about 3 of those years we didn't HAVE a car. Last year, most of everything my family owned was stolen, and when the thieves were caught, about half of it was recovered. So we bought half of the general things we had over again. The ONLY things that have remained constant and the same throughout the years are my blanket and Sparkalena, my stuffed animal friend. And through it all, I have NEVER felt like my world was changing too fast, or that I was being uprooted too many times.

What this says about me I don't know. However, I have decided that my flexibility in changing  is a good thing, certainly because of the life my family leads, and the life I plan on leading. I plan on backpacking all over New Zealand and North and South America. I want to travel the world, as much as I can before parts of the world are destroyed by us humans or Gaia. Gaia is the ancient Greek name for earth. According to the myth she came from chaos at the beginning of creation and as the mother of all gods she became the allegory for giving birth, receiving and taking. 

The reason I started talking about this is that another big change is about to happen. Very soon, my family and I will be leaving La Paz for the South Pacific, and on to New Zealand. We'll be going through French Polynesia, Fiji, and Tonga. Aeron is learning French right now, I am learning Spanish. Something funny Mom said the other day. "If on any random beach in Mexico, there is a cactus, a rock, and a taco stand, on any random beach in French Polynesia, there is a palm tree, a rock, and a baguetteria." I hope that's true, cause I really like baguettes.