Here's what happened yesterday night:

I called the number Nic gave me. During our short conversation, I learned that this girl had just looked up the distance from Truro to Wolfville & was unlikely to show up on my doorstep anytime soon...but she had arranged to stay in Dartmouth for a couple of days, so that was alright. I offered my number in case she needed any more help. She told me how "amazing" my brother is, and I could feel the adoration shining through the phone. Strange, unsettling experience, but I think I came through it okay. When Nic finally called me back, I gently reamed him out for the lack of useful information & talked briefly about his new desire to be a naturopath/physiotherapist. So that's alright.

Today's test of Christian virtue came during class when I discovered that the Anti-Stephen was spending Thanksgiving alone. Honestly, I felt like I was in the middle of a Charlie Brown special...I would invite him to have dinner with my parents, the Boy & I; then we would all learn the true meaning of Thanksgiving. I followed this script the best I could, but the Anti-Stephen spoiled it somewhat by being all twitchy & odd (as he usually is). He thanked me for my offer but claimed that he would likely "freak out" in a strange house. I gave him my phone number anyway.

The thing is, I'm not sure that I want to share my Thanksgiving experience with the Anti-Stephen, as he takes up so much of my attention & energy. I dunno...this is another one of those watershed moments in life when one has to chose between doing what one would enjoy and doing what one feels is right. Even if he lets me off the hook this weekend (just as Nic's friend did by arranging a place to stay in the HRM), I suppose it's nice to know that I can make these offers when the time comes.

And just to round out my tales of crisis yesterday & today, there seems to be another fine crisis brewing on tomorrow's horizon. According to my answering machine, Dirk is thinking about breaking away from the Nightshade parade & holing up in my house for a few days before he goes back to Toronto. Apparently something has gone wrong, although I lack details (and wouldn't report 'em if I had 'em). I'm conflicted: I hope that they work through their problems and have a happy week, but on the other hand I want to see Dirk again before Christmas. Fortunately this crisis won't ask me to choose between the path of comfort & the path of virtue; I just have to be ready to deal with the consequences of Dirk's decision.

On the non-crisis side of life, I got my SMILE file tonight. Much to my surprise, I've been assigned 8-year-old Helen, which should be interesting (the male : female rate of volunteers is about 3:7, while the male : female rate of students is 3:1, meaning that many female volunteers get male children). Most of our goals relate to communication & self-esteem, which I should be able to handle. I may get the chance to see her in the classroom, which would rock...my resource experiences have been few & far between. I need more time with special needs kids in an educational setting so that I can attach my theory onto some practice.

It's still pretty scary, tho'.