The last entry totally counted as my February entry. I have been told that it's not that big of a deal to skip a month, but this blog is almost five years old, and for the past five years there has always been at least one post each month. So, despite the fact that the last entry was posted on February 29 at 11:52pm, it counts. So suck it, Satan.
Alright, so let's recap, shall we? We last left our little adventurer (me) when she was describing her trip to Tennessee and the subsequent surprise visit to Kentucky. I also mentioned the beginning of a process, something that would be revealed later. That "process" was the vocal training with my lovely friend, Gabrielle, to prepare to audition for a Québec-wide singing contest called Caisse qu'on chante, for which Bruno is one of the spokespeople. Gabrielle and I had four coaching sessions and then she helped me film the audition. I didn't make it to the next round, but that's okay, because the coaching in and of itself was an amazing experience. So yeah. That was fun!
Not long after I got back from Tennessee in January, Theo and I decided that we couldn't wait any longer to see one another, so we made the plan for me to fly back down on February 23 for the week of my midterm break. It was painful waiting so long for February 23 to arrive, but I managed. My wonderful Katie-Bear came to see me here in Montréal a few days beforehand, and we spent the day being bitten by wind and exploring the city. I got to be a tourist again for a bit - it was fun. Except now I miss her and want her to come back. Or I need to go see her in Ottawa again. Because she is perfection in human form.
So. Tennessee. My plane left from Montréal at six a.m., which meant I had to leave my dorm at three. Ew. But Theo was worth it, I guess. After a short layover in Minneapolis, I arrived in Nashville at about eleven-thirty, several hours later than my arrival last time, which I'm sure both Theo and his dad appreciated. They met me just past security, and Theo and I immediately commenced our usual (adorable) bickering as we went out to the car and then to Arby's (drool) for lunch.
We had fun. We drove a lot. We went to Franklin and got delicious breakfast foods. We played his Wii U. On Thursday, we picked up my second ever rental car, a Toyota Camry whom I named Izzy. A few weeks before I arrived, I had noticed that Theo only lives a few hours from my Georgian family. Not only that, but I would also be in Tennessee on my baby sister, Mary's, ninth birthday. Because Theo didn't have to work, the greatest boyfriend in the world (him) agreed to drive down with me for the day. My sister, Sarah, and I worked together to plan to surprise everyone, Because apparently I can't go to Tennessee without surprising SOME family member.
We left early on Friday morning and arrived in Marietta at about noon. (I had forgotten about the time difference. Oops.) The plan was for the two of us to meet Sarah, Momma, and three of my brothers (Michael, Jesse, and Jackson) at IHOP. Again, as a surprise. And surprised, they were. After Sarah and I collided in the parking lot as a suitable greeting, she led the way into the restaurant and over to where everyone was sitting. Then I was just like, "Hey, peeps," before being set upon with hugs. It was awesome. I didn't even have a chance to introduce Theo to everyone since I was busy being hugged. Then we made more plans to surprise Mary at school and then to pick up Dad from work and surprise him, as well. All of this required quite a bit of organization, but we got it figured out. After a stop to pick up some balloons, we all went to Mary's elementary school.
Since Mary was being picked up early, we waited in the office for her to get out of class. I faced the wall so she wouldn't see me as she walked in. When she did, she got big hugs from Momma and our brothers (Sarah had to go do other stuff), all the while I examined the gorgeous wall. Then, when Mary came back to Momma, I turned around and said, "Hi, sweetie!" Mary immediately beamed and said "Ashlee!" before giving me a big hug. It was magical and made me very, very happy.
After that, it was time to pick up Dad. This required more organization since Momma couldn't tell him exactly why she wanted to pick him up early, nor could she text him and say that she was on her way, since he'd be able to see that she was fibbing. Eventually, it was decided that Mary and I would go to pick him up from the bus station while everyone else waited at the gas station across the street. Mary and I waited a little bit before she said, "There he is!" and started calling his name.
It took a bit for Dad to see us. In fact, he has Resting Unhappy Face, like I do, and he was looking in our general direction, so I thought he was really angry. But the second he saw me, he was startled, and immediately smiled and gave me a big hug. Woo! Then we all went to a really awesome park where we swung, climbed, and swung some more, before going to dinner at a BBQ joint. Sarah and her fiancé joined us at this point, though Jesse had to go to work, which was sad. After dinner, I gave Jackson and Mary the presents I had gotten them and then drove back with them to their apartment to say goodbye. This we did and were sad. Theo and I arrived back at his place at around midnight or later and were quite exhausted. So we slept.
The next day, Theo and I got dinner with his wonderful parents at a bar to watch a band, Phoenix Rising, that they love and with whom they're friends. The band was awesome and the members were super-dee-duper nice. I liked 'em. You can never have too much rock music. The next night, we were invited to dinner at Theo's parents house, where I met his sister, her husband, and their two daughters. Theo's oldest niece, who's six, adores me. We're best friends now. It's awesome.
I went home the next day. And I was sad. I cried a lot. I'm still sad, in fact. But he gave me his old electric guitar, a Fender Squier Stratocaster. Her name is Lzzy. I love her. And I miss Theo. Sigh. I won't see him 'til May. But he's worth the wait. I guess.
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