The Beginning, Middle, but not the End

Day 5,910 (December 22nd)

"Jodie, you ready?" I throw on my sweater and exit the bathroom. Callie stands outside my door, fully dressed in at least three sweatshirts. I can't help but laugh at her. We walk to her beat-up Ford Taurus. She had gotten it for a surprisingly low price after the original owners just let it sit in their garage, not even turning the engine for a year and a half. Dad fixed up enough so that it would run smoothly for Callie to have it as her first car. Before I open the passenger side door of the tan car, I run back inside the house and to the kitchen where I find my camera on the counter charging. I unplug it and take it back out with me to the car so that I can take photos for the yearbook.

Once I get in the vehicle, Callie and I begin our adventure for the night. There's a Christmas parade at the Loop tonight, and we are meeting Dallas, Zelda, and Dante there. We park outside the vinyl shop and walk down the street until we see our friends. The roads start to shut down, and the fun begins. We all line up against the fence that separates us from the pathway of the parade. The parade starts off with a marching band, performing classic holiday tunes. I take a few shots of the band as they march. Gradually, after they pass us it begins to snow. Huge floats pass us by with bright Christmas lights and streamers. Some floats shoot off green and red confetti. Dancers dressed as elves pass us as they spin, twirl, and even do some flips. The parade is mesmerizing. It's beautiful, and it only gets better. An enormous, inflated Santa in an even bigger shopping cart rides past us, sponsoring a donation organization.

We laugh as some of the elves who pass out candy even give us some of their sweets. We don't look like kids, obviously, but we choose to take it as a compliment. Besides, a bit of candy never hurt anyone as far as I am aware. I look at my friends, they're all laughing and beaming. I realize I am too, I'm just having fun with my friends. No worries, no stress. I'm just having a good time with my best friends.

I look around, and see the cashier from the vinyl shop walk behind us. Before I know it, I'm stopping him to ask him to take a picture of us. I want something to be able to remember this moment, whether it goes in the yearbook or not. The guy flashes me a smile, "Sure! My name's Milo by the way." After introducing myself and shaking his hand, I show him how to work my camera, and tell everyone to turn around. We all stand in a line, arms around each other.

"Alright, here we go. One...two...three!" The flash blinds us momentarily. I thank Milo, and take back the camera. Everyone groups around us, examining the photo. We're not all looking at the camera I realize. Dante is looking upwards, smiling. Callie is looking at him confused, but she's laughing. Zelda is laughing at the face Callie made. Dallas is looking at me, smiling. I'm grinning at the camera. The lights on the float behind us are all unfocused, making us the highlight of the picture. The way the light shines and how the snow falls onto us, a sense of warmth and joy is added to the photo.

I'm glad to be here and in this moment.