Chapter 13
Betty and Joe took the family to get new clothes and shoes for school. Mary decided it was time to get her ears pierced. It was not as bad as she had imagined. Joe got her diamond clip-on earrings remounted as pierced earrings.
On the first day of school, everybody was a little nervous, except for Mary, who was a lot nervous.
When they got home from school that afternoon, Mary ran into the house all excited. There was a tennis team at school and she signed up. It met after school and there was a late bus that she could ride home after practice. She also joined the swimming team, which had practice before school. She joined the high school choir as well. She had been asking to take piano lessons on the weekends.
Betty thought that she was taking on too much all at once, but she loved seeing Mary so eager to get involved at school. She told Mary that she could do all of the activities as long as she kept her grades up.
Matt had a great day as well. He made the basketball team and he was already getting girls’ phone numbers. He also joined the 7th grade choir. Joe was teaching him to play the guitar as well.
Mark wanted to play on the after school peewee football team. Betty was not too keen on the idea, but she gave her permission. Mark was not yet interested in girls yet, but they were interested in him. “They keep making goofy faces at me and giggling when I walk by” he said with a sigh of disgust. Joe told Mark that he would feel different about them in a few years.
Mary told her mother that the guys were a lot cuter in high school than they were in 8th grade and many boys said hi to her in the hallway at school.
Joe and Betty both volunteered at the schools when they could. They also helped with homework, and gave advice as needed. Joe was helping the kids master the computer and soon, all of them were very skilled at it. He and Betty monitored their use of it and limited their time on the computer when not used for schoolwork.
When the new school year started, the church was looking for a new Sunday school teacher for the second grade and Joe agreed to teach the class. He made the classes interesting and fun. Luke told Joe that he was better than his teacher was at the elementary school. The church was also starting a youth choir and Mary, Matt, Mark and Luke all joined it. Joe also ‘got volunteered’ to be in charge of the Christmas pageant.
At the beginning of October, Mary and Matt asked if they could have a Halloween party at their house. Joe and Betty talked it over and they agreed to the idea. Betty would take Mark, Luke, John and Paul Trick-or-Treating and Joe would supervise the party. Joe let Mary and Matt plan the party and he offered suggestions. Matt and Mary were each allowed to invite 25 guests. They both invited a mix of boys and girls.
The night of the party finally arrived. Matt was dressed as Robin Hood and Mary was dressed as Cinderella. Joe dressed as a pirate. The party was a huge success. Joe, Mary and Matt had prepared the snacks themselves. The food looked gross, but was delicious. Matt’s guests were 7th and 8th graders and Mary’s guests were 9th and 10th graders.
Joe noticed some guys flirting with Mary and it made him a little uneasy. He had to admit to himself, that Mary was very pretty and mature for her age. Matt was surrounded by girls all night. They would dare each other to run up to Matt and kiss him. Matt did not seem to mind. In fact, he was enjoying it.
The party ended at eleven pm and after the last guest had been picked up by their parents, Matt, Mary and Joe cleaned up the mess. Matt and Joe both agreed that it had been a terrific party and thanked Joe for helping them.
To Love, Honor and Cherish Page 13