Dog Dreams

Hi Mama,

I am all pumped up for my social studies meeting tomorrow. I put all my tests in chronological order in a folder, with a post-it on top that shows my average grade. I made a list of reasons for why my class should be changed. I made a list of reasons that I think they might say no, and wrote out arguments for those reasons. I picked out a really good outfit to wear. I practiced on Danielle and she said everything came out good. Aunt Elaine said that I should NOT wear my hair the way I was planning because it's not mature (pigtail braids), and that's a good point so I'm going to slick it back in a high ponytail instead. Alex said I should get a french manicure because they're mature, but I can't do that so I'll just leave my black nail polish on and try to not talk with my hands too much.

Speaking of hands, Alex can't write very well because of her stitches so I wrote her a note to bring to school tomorrow. She can write, but it looks like a messy boy's handwriting.

Dinner was cool. The fire family turned on their fireplace when we got there and I really like that smell. The dog is so cute - he's a cockapoo named Stanley Cup. They have these hardwood floors, and when you throw a toy for Stanley and he runs for it, his paws slide along the floor. Seriously, we need a dog. The fire mom was telling me after dinner that there are service dogs - not just for like blind and deaf people, but for people with diagnosed emotional problems. She said some were even used for 9/11. She said she'll find some information on it and e-mail it to me. I am going to ask my shrink about this, because seriously, I think a dog would make our lives a lot better.

We played all these card games at their house too. I already knew how to play Spit and Bullshit, but didn't know how to play Hearts. Ma, did you know that you can make hot chocolate like .... that's not instant? I hadn't realized that before - the fire dad cooked milk on the stove and then mixed it with ground up chocolate and a little bit of vanilla extract. Then he put whipped cream on top and it was so good. I don't think I'll be able to drink Swiss Miss ever again.

It was a really nice dinner, Mom. I wish you could have come with us. I know - if you'd been able to come with us, we wouldn't have fire family dinners. But still. When we were getting ready to leave, Alex asked if we could come over to play with Stanley. Even though it was rude, I'm glad she asked, because I'm too old to get away with it. The dad said they'll talk about their schedule and see what can be worked out. Which sounded to me like being blown off, you know? But when we were leaving and he was hugging me goodbye he said he hoped I wasn't too cool to skip out on playing with Stanley, so maybe not. I don't know; we'll see.

He's just so little and happy and cuddly. Stanley used to live at the mom's brother's house, but they were moving to a place that doesn't allow dogs. Terrible name, but really adorable dog. We agreed that when we get a dog we'll get a girl dog and name it Rocky.

Love,
Sam