#but maybe as a sledding hill some local people might pay a little for that idk

[guinevereslancelot]

they should make a rope tow for your backyard that you don't have to build yourself or spend 9k for

[theshootingcanuck-blog]

I got up early this morning. Geared up my Mossberg MVP to take out to the backwoods close to my place. Went out.....and didn't shoot a single round in ammunition..... why? Well Its Sunday, I came out after the first large snowfall, and its cool, about -15 Id say. Well that’ll keep the weekend warriors at bay right? Wrong. I know its hunting season, and frankly all the vehicles and people I saw on my commute where there for that reason. I sat in my truck for 10 minutes to wait and hear if there would be a crack of a rifle, nothing, no target shooters or plinkers.. So out of respect and because with all the human traffic, game was no where to be found anyway I decided not to be the one to make all the noise and scare everything away.

About 50 yards from my truck I notice this piece of plywood, screwed high up on a tree, behind it? a forest, then the creek, then the highway, and a campground. What a risky set up to be shooting out in the open where your hope is the trees stop your bullets, and whoever was shooting at this didn’t have a little .22, whatever he shot cut the tree in half.

So i did my due diligence and ripped the board off the tree and threw it into the back of my pickup. This way other shooters don't come out, see it, and use it themselves as the original shooter did. Talk about seeing that right off the bat before I even got a quarter of the way down the cut-line. It was all I could think about, being out there wasn't about testing the Mossberg, this article is about shooting safety in the back woods.

I don’t want to be the one to school those whom follow proper protocols and have their head on straight, its the select few that ruin the entire sports image, and no shooter..hunter..or competitor is unfamiliar with the situation. When I go out into the back country to set up my target and shoot I always treat it as if it where my backyard, pick up my casings, collect the target and the target frame, and I always leave with at least one piece of garbage more than I have brought. And if your reading this and I described you perfectly, good on you! If you cant relate, pay attention, stuff like this is why the public range in my area was shut down, and why its increasingly hard to find private ranges, and of course, why its harder to shoot on crown land.

Pictured here is a power pole that has seen the wrath of a shotgun, as well as some larger caliber holes as well as some work done by a woodpecker.

So here it goes, my list of protocols to follow when you are shooting in the backwoods;

1. ALWAYS KNOW WHERE YOUR BULLET IS GOING TO LAND

I can’t believe someone actually goes out onto public owned lands, sets up a target, and shoots wherever their eyes lead them to. Pictured above is a power pole in which someone had made the centerpiece of their rifle scope, behind it, is all forest. When you are shooting on shared land you have to understand that you are sharing it with a bunch of other people with different hobbies, If my bullets wanders into a forest, I wont sleep at night wondering how far it went and if it landed on...or in something it should not have. ALWAYS ALWAYS know exactly where your bullet will land, generally you should be looking for a hill side that will stop the bullet dead.

Pictured here is a equestrian trail, situated 50 meters in behind the power pole pictured earlier.

2. Situational Awareness

The crown lands near highly populated areas always attracts many tourists and locals enjoying their specific hobbies. Mountain biking, hiking, equestrian riding in the summer months or cross country skiing, sledding and hunting in the fall/winter months, there will always be someone out doing something out there.

As a shooter it is your job to know whether it is safe to shoot or not, common sense has to come into play, If your out on august long weekend mid-day and think your going to get some shooting in, first is there are going to be lots of witnesses. Second is you don't know what these people are doing, where they are going and if they will unknowingly wander onto your range. The what if scenarios i could write about will be abundant, Unfortunately firearms are last when it comes to first come first serve, we need lots of space, and we do use dangerous tools that are able to kill, Yell at me saying guns aren't dangerous but frankly they are only as dangerous as who is using it. Be mindful of others in the area, be respectful of others, and please dear god don't do anything to endanger others.

3. Do Some Recon.

This kind of goes along with situational awareness, before setting up and start shooting on your chosen range site, its a good idea to walk around the area, check to make sure no one is around, no cattle is hanging around, things like that. In my area there are lots of trees, and those trees are good at hiding things, Before I even set up my target I go for a walk. I walk in behind  and around where my range is set up to make sure nothing is there, no trails, people or livestock. 

4. Look out.

So we have now checked our range, we know where our bullets going, and no one is in immediate danger, that's right not immediately. When we are looking down through our scope its very easy to get tunnel vision, its good practice to keep on the look out for anyone or anything that might show up unexpectedly. Keep a pair of binoculars with you, or if your out with a friend make sure one is watching the big picture while the other zooms in on target. The last thing you need is to be shooting out to 800-1000 yards and a mountain bikers pops into focus while your bullet is mid-flight. Which brings me to my next point...

5. Go Long! but not too long.

Long range precision shooting is becoming increasingly popular. Its challenging, and for many its flirting with the sniper-fantasy that video games and movies have created.

In my area there is only one range I know that has a 100 meter range, after that there is one range that goes out to 500 meters, and then the rest only go out to 200 meters maybe not even that, so a lot of people turn to the crown land for a long range shot. This once again ties into a common topic Ive already addressed.....Common sense, and situational awareness. At 1000 yards a .308 Winchester round will be in flight for almost 2 seconds (under certain conditions), sounds fast right? it Is, but.....lets add the average human reaction time which is around .30 seconds. so 2.30 seconds from which the brain decides to take the shot, your finger to squeeze the trigger and the bullet to accelerate and fly to the target. There is enough time for something to wander onto your bullet during that time period.

My rule of thumb for crown land shooting is half a kilometer max, plus its hard to find anything further than that in the trees. Though I cant stop you from exceeding that distance, make sure you remember the above points mentioned.

6. Keep it Clean!

I hate driving up to my favorite shooting spot and seeing spent casings and shotgun rounds laying around, beer cans and a make-shift campfire in the middle of a fire ban. Though I do love it when they leave .223 casing around I can reload I hate seeing it in the wilderness and even more so I hate seeing non-shooters see it.

Keep track of your spent ammo, take it home with you, I don't see this problem with rifle shooters as much as shotgun enthusiasts. I hate to say it but skeet shooters are the messiest of the bunch, especially with the fragments of orange clays laying around. Though i understand that you have better things to do than pick up all the pieces of clays, and plus its clay, its not going to hurt the environment, it just looks bad being orange, but I can get by that. What I cant get by Is beer bottles! liquor, water bottles soda cans any of it! i took 20$ worth of cans that I have collected from the backwoods in the last year. Its the lowest one can be. Not to mention you shouldn't be drinking and handling a firearm at the same time.

Sorry, that rant is getting a little out of hand. The point i am trying to make here is to leave with more garbage than you have arrived with, (Not that your selfish drunk assholes, well because if your reading this you probably aren't one of them anyway.) its nice to keep our back yard clean.

7. Do Not Drink and Shoot

I touched on this topic in the above point. And so we are clear....Alcohol...you can drink your water Smart Alec! This shouldnt need any explaining.

So to reiterate, we as shooters have to be above the average when it comes to our behavior and etiquette. With firearms already being under the microscope so much people and politicians are very quick to take anything away from us as they can. Like the public shooting range in my area, it was shut down because of peoples poor respect of the place and for the sport. Crown land is constantly being closed off to shooters and if things keep going the way they are we will have to either get lucky enough to join a private range (which is hard to do) or our firearms will collect dust in the cabinets. So the choice is yours.

*Drops Mic*

Did I miss something that is important and should be shared? Leave a comment or PM me!

~TSC

[ficdirectory]

Blink (An AU Fosters family fic) Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Pearl mulls over the idea of looking Jesus up.  She could Google him.  Or ask her mom, Char or Pav if they had ever heard the name Jesus Foster before, and see what they said.  It takes all of her self control not to.

It’s because of the conversation she’s already had with Jesus:  because he told her how much he likes being in charge of who he tells, and how much he says.  If she looked him up now, and found out more information than he disclosed to her, he would probably feel really betrayed.  

She knows if the news had somehow picked up what happened to her and everyone knew about it everywhere she went, it would be awful.  It’s bad enough living in a small town and having everyone here know about what happened to her.  It’s a small miracle that Stef and her family don’t know.  Pearl isn’t willing to compromise Jesus’s privacy to satisfy her own curiosity.  If Jesus wants to tell her, he will.  (She’s not gonna mention his name to her mom or her friends either, because they might connect the dots and figure out the kid she’s been talking to is Jesus.)

“Friends don’t Google friends,” Pearl tells Gracie.  “Right?”

Gracie nuzzles Pearl’s hand.

Pearl makes a decision.  Finds a bright orange Frisbee.  Holds it out to Gracie.  “Wanna get out of here?  Go play?” she asks.

Gracie’s tongue lolls out.  She smiles.

They walk for a while.  The whole point is to get away from her cabin and the WiFi and the temptation to poke into the life of the kid who just called her his role model.  So Pearl walks until she arrives at a local spot where she and Gracie love to play because it’s usually so deserted.  

Pearl lets Gracie off-leash and tosses the Frisbee.  “Go get it, girl!” Pearl calls, and Gracie bounds after it.  She leaps and catches it while it’s still in the air.  In so many ways, Gracie’s still like a puppy.  

--

Jesus loves this.  If he could just spend his whole day on the couch with Mama talking about food, he’s pretty sure that would solve everything that’s wrong.  He keeps thinking about hot chocolate, and how much he wants to make it, but he knows it would be pushing it.  He needs to take it slow today and not borrow trouble.

Even though it’s only been a little bit since he had waffles, Mama starts making lunch, so it’ll be ready at noon.  Soup and sandwiches.  It smells good.  He gathers his bag and other stuff from under the table, so she can take care of the blankets.

This time, he can eat, no problem.  But he can’t put anything in his bag because it’s just Mama right now, and she’s paying attention.

After lunch, it’s back to the couch, where they put The Food Network on mute and just talk.  Mama lets him lead the conversation and for a while he obsesses about food some more, but eventually, he does feel safe enough to bring up another huge thing that’s been on his mind.

“You remember Monday night?” he asks carefully.

“I do,” Mama responds softly.

“You and Mom were really mad,” Jesus observes.  “That I didn’t tell you where I was going.”

“I remember.”

“But I couldn’t,” he tries to explain.

“You couldn’t?” Mama asks.

“It was like today.  This morning?  I got stuck out there and I couldn’t move.  Once Mom and Brandon and Callie left, and I was by myself I just froze.  I didn’t have anything that made me safe.  I was just out there, alone.  I thought maybe if I just waited, they’d come back, but then it was a long time, and I got cold, and that made everything worse.”

Mama just listens.

“So it’s not like I was trying to make you guys upset, I actually couldn’t move to come back and tell you.  Gracie came and got me and brought me to Pearl’s.  It’s the only reason I got there.”

Mama thinks for a bit and then starts talking: “So, when Mom and I keep telling you to make sure you tell us when you go over there, that probably doesn’t feel very fair.”

Jesus shakes his head.

“Maybe instead you need something to be different?  So that that doesn’t happen again?” Mama tries.

“Right,” Jesus nods.

“How do you get home each night?” Mama wonders.

“Pearl walks me back and knocks on the door to be sure you guys can hear,” Jesus volunteers.

“Okay, so when you want to walk over to Pearl’s and you tell one of us in the family, we’ll make sure that person walks you over, too.  So you get there safely.  Does that sound workable?”

Jesus nods.  “Jude did it last night,” he offers.  “It really helped.”

“Thank you for telling me that.”

“You’re welcome.  Can we make hot chocolate together?  Or does it have to just be you?” Jesus asks.

“How safe do you feel in the kitchen?” she asks.

Jesus shrugs.

“So, I think, this time, it would be best if I made it.  But you’re welcome to give me suggestions.”

“Candy canes?” he offers.

“Well, let’s see what Grandpa has on hand…” Mama says, getting up to look around.  Jesus gets up, too, but just so he can turn and see what she’s up to.

--

Pearl keeps throwing the Frisbee.  Now, though, she’s squinting at the sledders in the distance on the hill.  One in particular, looks familiar.  Bright pink jacket.  Pink fleece hat.  And her walk...so unique...Pearl would know it anywhere.

Slowly, Pearl makes her way over to the group, feeling drawn to them.  (If Frankie’s there, Jesus is there.  And she can’t shake the desire to check in.)  She and Gracie climb the hill off to the side, so Brandon and Mariana don’t take her out, careening down the hill together.  Next come Callie and Jude, whooping and cheering.

By the time she gets to the top, Pearl realizes that she didn’t just miscount.  There are only six people here.  Jesus and Lena are missing.  She tries to hide her disappointment.  Frankie notices them first.

“Gracie!  Hi!”  she says from the sled.  “Mom, let me out, okay?”

Stef laughs and lifts her out, holding onto her as she trudges through the snow.

“These boots are way too heavy,” Frankie says.  “But hey, Pearl?  Is Gracie on a break right now?”

“She is, actually.  We just came here to play.”

“So, I can pet her?” Frankie asks, incredulous.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Be gentle,” Stef reminds, as Frankie embraces Gracie hard.

“Gracie, I missed you so much, and I wanted to pet you for my whole life,” Frankie exclaims dramatically.

Gracie accepts the hug, and licks Frankie, making her giggle.

“Oh!  She loves me, too!” she squeals.

“Where’s Jesus?” Pearl asks, counting again.  Definitely only four teenagers on the hill.

“Jesus isn’t here,” Frankie interjects stopping the love-fest with Gracie to inform Pearl.  “He’s at the cabin with Mama.  He--”

“He’s having a bit of a tough morning,” Stef interjects.  “Sometimes, it’s better for him to have less going on during those times.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Pearl nods.  She waits until Frankie’s thoroughly distracted, trying to throw the Frisbee for Gracie and says, “You’re leaving Sunday?  That’s coming up.”

“A bit too quickly for my liking,” Stef admits.  “It feels like we just got here.”

“Hey, Pearl,” Brandon greets, coming to the top of the hill.  Mariana, Jude and Callie all follow him in sending her a greeting before sledding down the hill again.

“Hey, can Gracie go sledding with me?” Frankie wonders.

“No, love.  Gracie has to stay with Pearl,” Stef encourages.

“But she’s on a break!”

“Honey, dogs can’t sled,” Stef explains.

“I’ll take you, Frankie,” Jude offers, back at the bottom of the hill.

“Okay!”

Pearl listens to Stef’s instructions that Jude sit behind her and hold onto her, and not go too fast.

“I’m not really in control of the sled, Mom…” Jude protests.

“Oh, you are more than you think.”

Waiting until all the kids are careening down the hill, Stef offers softly: “If it’s something you’re comfortable with...I feel like it would mean a lot to Jesus...and to us...if he could stay in touch with you after we leave…”  She’s looking at the sledders, tracking all five of the kids down the hill.  But she’s waiting for Pearl’s response.

“Yeah.  It would mean a lot to me, as well.  Assuming it’s okay with you and Lena,” Pearl amends.

“Very much so…  Jude Jacob!  Don’t you dare start a snowball fight!  We’re here to sled!”

“Sorry!” he calls back, unable to resist pelting Brandon with a handful of snow.

“Listen, do you think it’d be too much if I stopped by Frank’s myself on the way home?  I could see how Jesus is doing?  Ask if he wants to hang out next door for a while?”

“See what he’s comfortable with.  And what Lena says.  If they’re okay with it, I’m fine with it.  He might just need a really low-key day.  I’d just want to make sure he eats before he goes over.”

“Right.”

--

Jesus is trying to convince Mama that he’d be an even better co-chef if he can actually touch the food.  It’s his trauma talking, and they both know it.  It’s getting hard to just sit by and watch.  Making him anxious.

A knock sounds at the door.

“Jesus, can you answer that, please?” Mama calls.

It makes him breathe a sigh of relief.  That she trusts him to do something while she’s busy.  He loves to be in charge of knowing who’s coming and going, but he checks the window first.

Pearl and Gracie!

“Hey.  What’s up, guys?” Jesus asks, almost reaching out to hug Pearl but stopping himself.  (He can’t do that unless he asks, and unless she says yes.  Jesus hates sneak-attack hugs - the kind that are all about the giver and show no regard for the getter.)

“We ran into Stef and the rest sledding.  I thought you might be with them, but they said you stayed back.”  She and Gracie wipe their feet and Jesus leads them into the kitchen.

“Mama’s making hot chocolate.”

“Oh gosh.  You know that’s my weakness.  Hey, Lena,” she calls.

“Hey guys.  Pearl, I hear you make superior hot chocolate...on the stove…” Lena smiles.

“Jesus is kind,” Pearl insists.

“In my experience, he’s honest…” Lena says.

“That’s also true,” Pearl admits.

“Gracie, can you believe these guys?” Jesus asks.

“I wanted to stop by and make sure you were okay.”

“Doing better, yeah.  Thanks,” he nods.

“So…  Do you want to come back next door with Gracie and me?”

“Oh, totally.  Mama, is that cool?” Jesus asks.

“It’s cool with me, if it’s cool with you, my love.”

“Okay, let me get my stuff.”

In seconds, he’s ready, jacket and backpack on.  They start walking.  

“It’s cool you stopped by,” Jesus offers.

“Well, I was so bummed when I saw your family, and you weren’t there.  Like, they weren’t complete without you.  It looked wrong with only five there.”

There’s something about her tone that makes him stop.  “You’re thinking about it, right?  About what I said last night?  About being kidnapped.”

“I am…” she admits, but at least she looks embarrassed.  “It’s hard not to think about it now that I know.  And I am curious.  But I remember what you said about not wanting people to know more than you tell them yourself, and I respect you.”

She opens her door and lets him inside.  This is the least trauma he’s ever felt being over here.  He’s been so freaked out before, it’s never occurred to him that Pearl doesn’t lock her door.

Jesus fights the urge to do it for her.  

But he’s also sure she has a reason.  And him doing that for her might have just as disastrous an effect as somebody insisting he couldn’t check his house at night, to be sure all the doors and windows were locked.

He has to respect her, like she’s respecting him.

[mysticwiki]

Stars || Maria Qureshi (read here on my Wordpress)

Some of you might remember that last semester I wrote a short story for my final project in a creative writing class. Recently I decided to re-visit it and revise! It came out much better than last time. 

Here it is and I hope you enjoy!

“Flora?” No reply. Only silence and fast paced breathing.

She continued to walk on ahead of me, her pace never faltering as she marched on forward up the hill. If she had walked any faster, I would have definitely lost track of her if it weren’t for those keychains attached to her backpack making so much noise. Even I was starting to lose my breath at this point just trying to keep up with her, too. I don’t even understand how she can hike up so easily, especially considering the fact that this campus is known for its steep, narrow hills! Locals in the nearby town make it a tradition to take trips to the campus hills just to sled down them during the winter because of the steepness. Except right now, it wasn’t winter. Instead, it was the middle of October on a late Friday night where I was starting to question my decisions for the night.

“Flora?” I called out again to her, but still no reply.

I let out a sigh and was starting to get pretty annoyed. Why did I even decide to agree to this hike in the first place? If she hadn’t woken me up so abruptly, I would be sleeping so peacefully, undisturbed in my bed in our dorm room… and not hiking up this hill. I don’t even understand why she took me out here anyway, it’s not like people actually hang around campus this late at night. Normally she disappears around the time I fall asleep too, but she never wakes me up when she does. She’s usually out of the room by the time I wake up. So why did she decide to actually wake me up this time?

We approached the top of the hill, but she was still walking ahead of me. I picked up the pace and got closer to her.

“Flora, where are we even— ow!” She stopped abruptly, making me collide nose first into her shoulder.

I took a step back in pain, holding my nose in my hand and grumbling to myself about how much that actually hurt. I tried giving her possibly the dirtiest look I could pull off, but to no avail. She wasn’t even looking at me. Unbelievable, right? Flora was instead bent down on the grass taking something out from her bag and I shook my head at her in disappointment.

“Are you finally awake now, sleepyhead?” She said as she pulled out a blanket from her bag. It draped down beside her as she held it from one side.

“Does your definition of being awake have to do with being in extreme pain or something?” I asked, but all she did was laugh and I sighed. I never truly understand what goes on in the mind of that girl, quite frankly the weirdest things make her laugh, and apparently one of those things was my clumsiness and self-inflicted accidental pain. But, it’s not like I really minded at all, especially with the kind of laugh she has. It’s pretty loud, actually, and sort of obnoxious and sometimes when she laughs too much, she snorts and covers her mouth with her hands, getting all red in embarrassment. It’s kind of adorable honestly.

“Clara, help me out here, will you?” She said, motioning towards the blanket that was still draping down from her hands. I walked towards her and grabbed the other side before we settled it down onto the grass.

“Flora, why are we here?”

There was a long moment of silence as she got comfortable adjusting herself and sitting down on the blanket. It was a clear night, there were no signs of clouds, but the moon was full and shining bright. I was still standing up and I couldn’t help but notice how the moon was illuminating a slight glow onto the area we perched ourselves in, even on Flora who was now staring up at the sky. It made her short blond hair look almost white and while the glow made her skin appear lighter in contrast to her dark ton, it made the freckles that scattered across her face stand out even more than they actually do. I’ve always liked that about her, the freckles I mean. At times whenever we’re together, I always find myself stealing glances at her, counting and memorizing where each little dot lies on her face. I wonder if she notices it when I do that.

Flora finally spoke, breaking the silence between us, “I just felt like stargazing with you.”

“Stargazing?” I asked, tilting my head to the side in confusion. Did she really drag me out here for such a trifling thing like stargazing? I never thought that people actually did that kind of stuff. I’ve always assumed it was one of those off-hand inspirational kind of things characters in fiction do when they’re looking for something.

She nodded and turned to face me, a slight smile forming on her lips, “Yeah, aren’t you going to sit down with me after I so graciously invited you?”

I frowned, “You threw a pillow at my face and then shook me awake while I was sleeping,” I said as I settled down to sit next to her, “I’d say that’s far from gracious, Flora.”

“But it worked!”

I sighed and shook my head at her, “Okay, well, what do we do now that we’re here and… stargazing?”

“Eh? Do you not know how stargazing works? She asked and I slowly shook my head no.

“Come on, Clara, lie down next to me.”

In a matter of just a few moments, I found myself lying down in extremely close proximity next to Flora in a comfortable silence. We were close enough to each other that our arms and hands were touching slightly and, just being next to her, I could feel myself getting warmer and warmer as each moment passed. Her gaze was continuously fixed on the sky above us, but I was look at her the entire time. It may sound a little odd, but quite frankly I didn’t see any reason to look up at the stars if there was already such a beautiful sight lying down next to me. Whenever she looks at things with such astonishment and fascination, her eyes always have this starry look to them that seems to suit her well. And tonight, there was an extra sparkle in her eyes as if the stars were being reflected through them.

“Well?” Flora started to say, breaking the silence once again, “What do you think of it?”

“It’s breathtaking…” I said, but at that point I realized I was still looking at her and not actually at the sky. It made me feel incredibly embarrassed, but luckily she was still looking away from me. I took this as an opportunity to shift my gaze away from her and finally stare up at the sky. Needless to say, at least what I saw was true to my words, it really was breathtaking.

What I saw were hundreds, maybe thousands of shining, bright stars in the open that made the sky seem vast and endless. They twinkled and gave light to the darkness that surrounded us. Just looking up above made me feel incredibly small. It was something I definitely wasn’t used to, I mean, we don’t get this kind of view back home. Even if I’ve been living on this campus for some time now, this was the first time I really noticed how different the sky was here.

“I never really realized how many stars there actually are in the sky.” I said absentmindedly. Though frankly that was a dumb thing to say, but hey, I’m still pretty shocked by it. Sometimes I forget they exist and I never pay attention. This was probably the first time I actually appreciated something so simple like the stars in the night sky, too. Flora didn’t seem too phased by it at all though.

“Yeah, and this is one of the best hills to look up at them,” Flora said and I felt her shift around in her spot next to me to sit up, “The stars are so pretty here…”

I nodded and pointed a finger up above and started aimlessly, connecting stars together and making my own constellations, “I just find this all to be pretty interesting.”

“What’s interesting? Did you see a shooting star or something?”

“Well, no, it’s just…” I started to say and sat up to look at her, “Is this where you always disappear to after I fall asleep every night? And why am I just discovering this now?”

In that moment, Flora adverted her eyes away from me, but I swear I saw the hint of a smile form on her lips, “Well I only started coming down here this semester.”

“Why do you…” I started to ask, but then I noticed she was looking away from me again and back up at the sky so I stopped myself from questioning her any further. We never used to be roommates up until this semester after I transferred to this college. So even if Flora and I have been living together for two months now, there were still some things I didn’t know about her. I mean, I’ve been living with her long enough where I know her as a supportive roommate, as someone who’s my go-to study buddy, and as someone who likes the same stuff as I do and stays up with me every Saturday night to watch a show. It’s not to say that I don’t know her at all, or that she’s not fun to be around, but there’s still so many things that I have yet to discover about her.

“Clara, what do you think happens to us when we die?”

“Huh?!” I was taken aback so suddenly by the question, “W-why would you ask something like that?” I don’t think any of our conversations until now have been about existential dread yet so this really was a weird question.

She shook her head, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. But I mean, we all have to go someday, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…” I bit my lip and stared down at the blanket. I really had no idea what direction this conversation was going to lead into, but it was starting to peak my curiosity. Flora isn’t really the type to spring up conversations so suddenly like this either, especially conversations to this extent. Sure, we’ve talked about things that bother us and we’ve had our equal share of venting, but talking about death? Maybe I’ll find out something new about her through this. I just really hope I don’t say the wrong thing.

“Listen, I don’t want you to get any wrong ideas,” Flora started to say and I sprung my head back up towards her. She was looking at me again with a steady smile, “Can I tell you something?”

I nodded and she cleared her throat before speaking again, “I lost my parents last semester, right around the last week of school, too. A truck collided with their car and they didn’t make it.”

I stared at her and all I could do was blink, “Oh Flora…” I started to say and I frowned, “I honestly had no idea. I’m so sorry.” In that moment I felt a sudden wave of guilt come over me. If I had known earlier that this had happened to her, that for the past few months she’s been having to deal with the loss of family so close to her by herself, I would have tried to help, or at least be there for her in a better way than I am now.

“Well, you see, there’s this believe that runs in my family, actually,” She continued, “We believe that when people die, they turn into stars. So when I’m out here staring up at the stars, it almost feels like I’m visiting my folks. They’re always with me and— Hey, are you crying?”

“Huh?” I quickly rubbed my eyes with my sweater sleeve before more tears started to drop, “N-no, I’m not crying— I think some dirt just got caught in my eye.”

“Clara…” Flora started to say and she frowned, “I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. It’s nothing to be sad about, besides…” She then grabbed my hand closest to her, intertwining her fingers into mine, “My parents say hello to me every night now.”

I didn’t expect her to do something like that, to hold my hand so suddenly. But when she did, I swear my heart was doing continual laps around a field with the way it was beating. I don’t know what she’s doing, but whatever it is, I’m not even going to question it at this point.

I looked at her, then at the intertwined hands, then back up at her before speaking, “Why did you tell me all of this?”

She looked down at our hands, but I swear I saw a slight hint of the color pink appearing on her face, “Well, I just thought that it would be nice seeing the stars with someone who’s just as pretty as them.” She looked up at me and smiled, “Besides, this is the first time I’ve ever taken someone I like out stargazing with me.”

“I see.” I said, but it took me a little while to register what she had just actually said and I gasped, “Wait! What do you— what do you mean by that? Flora? I—”

I was interrupted by one of Flora’s infamous laughing fits. She started laughing so much that she ended up letting go of my hand to aid in covering her mouth with both hands. I felt the temperature on my face rise again as I started getting embarrassed and flustered. What the hell was this anyway, some kind of weird confession? Did she really take me all the way out here to tell me this big thing about her life, only to reveal some feelings for me? Is this truly the Flora I think I know? Well, whatever it was, I admit it did make me feel… weird, but happy somehow.  Did I even have any kind of feelings for her in that way? I mean, I do like her, and the feelings are confusing, but I know there’s something positive about it. At least she had the courage to actually reveal hers, leaving me behind in a fit of laughter.

Feeling discouraged in the midst of it, I started to get up to leave, “I think I’m going to head back to the room now.” It was just too much for me. The more I thought about everything happening in the moment, the more overwhelmed I felt. I wasn’t angry at her, it just felt a little out of the ordinary, maybe even a little mocking with the way she was laughing at me. But before I could actually make my exit, Flora grabbed my hand, keeping me in place in that awkward position that’s in-between sitting and standing up.

“Wait no, don’t go just yet!” She said, urging me to sit down. Sure, she stopped laughing, but her face was still all smiles and I sighed, reluctantly sitting back down next to her. Why do I even do this to myself?

“The look on your face was priceless, Clara, I couldn’t resist!” She said, but I remained silent. “Look, I do like you, but I guess I just…” She sighed and shook her head, “I guess I did this all wrong, didn’t I?”

“Well, wrong might be an understatement, but I guess it was a pretty clever way of confessing.” I said, shaking my head in disappointment at her.

She bit her lip nervously, “Are you mad at me now?”

I gave her a puzzled look, “What? Why would I ever be mad at you?” Though, I mean, my reaction to the whole thing might have made things a little worse for her in a way.

“I guess I was just afraid…” She said, “I just didn’t want things to get weird between us.”

“Flora, listen…” I started to say and the fast-paced heartbeat returned. Even if I had the same feelings, I needed to set some things straight, “I like you too, actually, and though the timing for all of this might have been been a bit weird, the feelings are still there.” I grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, “I’m not mad at you, just a little taken aback I guess and relieved even. You’ve been such a great friend to me since I’ve met you, I guess somewhere along the way the feelings changed, huh?” She gave me a slight nod in answer and I smiled, “I guess it wasn’t just me then. And the fact that you took me all the way out here, just for all of this, it means a lot to me and I’m really happy. So thank you, Flora.”

This time it was Flora’s turn to start crying. Her eyes welled up with tears and for once she didn’t really know what to say. Using my free hand, I wiped away the few tears that fell upon her face.

“Hey, Clara?” She said with a sniffle.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder, “I haven’t introduced anyone to my parents in a while. So thank you for coming out here with me.”

“Well, I’m glad to have met them.” I said and I rested my head against hers. I don’t know exactly how long we sat there together like that before we headed back to the room, to our room. It felt like an eternity just sitting there, but I didn’t mind. I wish we could have sat together on that blanket, staring up at the sky and saying hello forever.

END.

[thegloober]

12 acts of kindness you can do with your kids over the holiday break, to make the season about more than presents.

On the first day after Christmas, Santa will be back at the North Pole, the toys will all be unwrapped, and you’ll have at least a week to entertain your sweet, energetic children while they are home from school. If there’s ever a time to let the kids watch a wee too much television, this is it. But it’s also an excellent time to remind the kids that doing good things for others can happen at any time of the year.

So in the spirit of giving that we feel at the holidays, we’ve pulled together a dozen acts of kindness that you can do with the kids.

Pick one, pick a few, or consider chosing one to do each month for the entire year. Because acts of kindness are great ideas, whenever they occur.

Related: 19 random acts of kindness you can do with your kids any time

1. Play “kindness fairy” Spend an afternoon leaving little bags of treats on neighbors’ doorsteps, quarters on a parking meter, snacks where your delivery person drops packages. Use your imagination to come up with even more ideas.

The free printable Acts of Kindness tags (shown above) from Inspiration Made Simple are a bright way to let people know what you’re doing, while still keeping your anonymity since it’s fun to do kind things without the expectation of thanks.

2. Remember the troops Think about our amazing service men and women who have been stationed overseas for the holidays (or anytime) by coloring pictures and writing notes for the troops. Organizations like Operation Gratitude will make sure your letters or packages get where they need to go.

3. Pick a charity and raise a few bucks for them It may be too cold for lemonade where many of us live, but we love the idea to  set up a hot chocolate stand for charity viaThe Princess and the Frog. You can do it on your sidewalk, at a local playground entrance (though be sure to check your community’s laws first!) or I think setting up near a popular sledding hill over the holiday break would be a sure money-maker!

4. Donate stuff. Good stuff. Go through your kids’ overflowing toy bins and book shelves and decide what they’d like to donate to a local charity or children’s organization. Consider unopened birthday gifts, craft sets that have gone unused, books in great quality.

And be sure to spend some time together cleaning up the items, making sure all the pieces are in the game and there are no scribbles in the book. This little extra care helps teach kids that we should donate mindfully, as if we are giving a gift to someone else — not just “throwing away” what they no longer want.

Related: 21 ways your family can volunteer for your own community. Small scale, big impact!

Free printable Christmas cookie gift labels via Frog Prince Paperie

5. Pay a visit to your local first responders. Bring cookies. It’s always a good time to bake a fresh batch of cookies or homemade brownies and deliver them to your local fire or police station, as a way of saying thank you. Ask the kids to include a handwritten note or drawing for them as well — and here are some great ideas for how to package cookies to make them more gifty.

6. Help a neighbor out If you live in a snowy area, grab the kids and head out one day with shovels to dig out a neighbor’s walkway before they notice you’re there. Pretend you are ninja snow shovelers and try to be as quiet as possible though be ready to yell SURPRISE if you get “caught”.

But there are lots of ways to do nice things for neighbors, whether you’re delivering unexpected treats for no reason, or fixing that mailbox hinge for them that’s been broken for a year.

You can even bring an amaryllis or a small succulent to a neighbor who could use a little cheering up now that their grown children and grandchildren have returned home after the holidays.

7. Paint kindness rocks We’ve loved the painted kindness rocks trend and hope it doesn’t go away soon. Have the kids leave one by each mailbox — or each apartment door — for your neighbors to discover. It’s such a colorful way to bring a little brightness into a person’s day and it’s so easy to do.

8. Beautify a public space You don’t have to spend a whole weekend in work gloves and waders (unless you want to) — it could be as simple as having the kids draw happy pictures to hang randomly on telephone poles; picking up garbage that’s accumulated in a small area; or even printing out inspiring quotes on brightly colored sheets of paper for storekeepers to hang in their windows.

Liz’s stepfather always plants tulip bulbs along random stretches of grass in their neighborhood and their neighbors love discovering them every spring!

Related: Kids and activism: 10 smart ways they can put their passion to good use.

9. Do something nice for animals Don’t forget your feathered friends this winter! I want to make some birdseed feeder ornaments for the birds using Little Bins Little Hands’ peanut-butter-free recipe. They will look so cute if you use your cookie cutters and then hang them where you can watch the birds enjoying them.

You can also empty out your linen closet and have the kids help you sort out older sheets and towels to donate to local animal shelter. On your way there, stop at a local pet store to buy some new toys to the animals and bring them all over to the shelter.

Make sure you leave enough time to say hello to all the animals awaiting adoption!

10. Make a very special card for one very special person in your child’s life. Kate just shared this beautiful idea for the kids to make a handwritten card for the grandparents. But they’re not the only ones who might appreciate a handmade card.

Yes, we love teachers and coaches but dig deeper. Maybe you give a note to the kids’ favorite librarian who always finds them the perfect book to read. Or to the person at the bank who knows what color lollipop they like best. Or the supermarket cashier who makes them laugh every time you pass through their line. (If you can, sneak a $5 coffee gift card in the card for an extra-special surprise treat.)

Related: Renegade Made helps kids create random acts of kindness through crafting

11. Pay for something small for someone Buy the coffee for the person behind you in line. Pay for the toll of the driver behind you (provided you’re not in the EZ Pass lane). Pay off the library fine for the next person who comes in with one. It’s just so cool to show the kids that a random act of kindness like this can make you feel good, even without any acknowledgment or thanks.

12. Get the kids involved in your charitable donations Of course, there are bigger donations you can make too, and it’s so nice to do it as a family.

If you’re making year-end donations, get the kids involved by letting them search Donors Choose for a classroom project they’d like to support. (We love them so much, we included a Donors Choose gift card as one of our  favorite meaningful gifts for kids this year.) Your science lover may want to help a teacher buy a microscope, while your avid reader may want to help buy copies of their favorite book for a classroom in need.

You can also visit the WWF website and let each kid pick out an animal to “adopt” with your donation, or choose which part of the country to preserve through the Nature Conservancy. Or hey, have them talk to you about what cause is important to them. From education in other countries, to an issue right in your own neighborhood, you might be surprised to see where your kids hearts are.

The best part is that this is the kind of generosity that is welcome any time of year at all. In fact, sometimes picking a random day to do this makes it a true act of kindness that the kids will surely remember.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/12-acts-of-kindness-you-can-do-with-your-kids-over-the-holiday-break-to-make-the-season-about-more-than-presents/