That was sarcasm by the way.
Nah. I'm kidding mostly. I kind of like the sense of accomplishment I feel after doing something productive - even with the simplest, or sometimes most disgusting, of tasks. Plus I know it helps the family out when everyone pulls their own weight.
And today of all days, I really can't complain. After I got our toilet clean, I pretty much had the day to myself. Mom has the day off of work, and she encouraged me to get out of the house for a little bit.
Maybe I'm just in a good mood for no specific reason today. Standing here enjoying the beauty of simply being... existing, it's easy to remember a time I stood here when I wasn't enjoying much of anything at all.
It's incredible how much my life and my outlook has changed, pretty quickly too. The world is an amazing place. It gives me hope and helps me focus on all that is good in my life instead of all that is not so good.
For instance, the road isn't always deserted anymore. Now I can greet our neighbors who are out and about if I ever get lonely. And sometimes they come to visit me. Here comes two of those neighbors now.
As Macie and Cyrus walk towards me I think back to the day I first met Macie. This is a much happier memory than the one of that miserable lonely day I was just thinking about.
But sweet Macie smiled and said, "Nice to meet you Jay. I'm Macie."
I knew it was the start to a beautiful friendship.
Needless to say, I'm glad to see her today. I'm always glad to see her. And Cyrus too. This is turning out to be a very nice day.
"Hey guys." I say. "I didn't know you two knew each other."
"We met a couple of weeks ago." Macie says happily. "Cyrus had some exciting news today! He said Justina, the woman who cares for a big group of kids at his shelter, is trying to get permission to start a school. If the government approves it we'll start having class a couple of times a week."
"Seriously?" I ask Cyrus.
"Yeah, man. It's true." Cyrus confirms.
"It's not that." Cyrus mumbles.
"Then what?"
Macie is the one that answers. "His sister's sick. I told him that it probably wasn't serious..."
"But we don't really know. I just hope she gets well, and soon." Cyrus finishes.
They hang around for a couple of hours before Cyrus wants to head home. Macie decides to leave at the same time. I did my best to cheer Cyrus up while he was here. From what they told me, it doesn't sound like his sister is seriously ill, but we'll all just have to keep our fingers crossed and pray. Mostly we talked about what the potential school might be like.
Just as Macie and Cyrus are rounding the curve in the road where they'll disappear from view, I hear someone else call my name.
Today must be the day for visitors. One of Cyrus's roommates, Sienna, is walking my way.
"About the same." I don't really want to talk about that, so I switch topics. "So I heard the big news. Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other soon."
"Oh! The school. Yeah, it'll definitely be nice to see you more often."
"Do you have something in your eye?" I ask because she was blinking a lot when she said that.
"Yep. They're the ones that told me we might be getting a school."
"Did they also tell you that they've been sneaking out at night to meet each other and make out behind our shelter?"
"Umm... no. They had other things on their mind today, I guess." I said thinking that it wasn't really any of my business.
"I think his sister was already feeling better when I left this morning. I'm sure she's fine... But at least Cyrus has a girlfriend as a distraction. It'd be kind of nice to have someone just hold your hand, don't you think?"
She started blinking funny again when she asked that. I decided just to ignore it this time because she already said her eye was fine.
"Yeah, I guess so. It's nice to have any kind of friend at all, if you ask me. Especially someone who likes to do the same things as you. So are you up for a jog today?"
Sienna rolls her eyes at me. I'm not sure why. She stretches, as she says, "Sure. Catch me if you can, Jay."
And then she runs.
Sienna decides to head home right after our run. When I get inside I sit down beside Mom for just a minute.
"I'll make you proud, Mom."
"I know you will." She says. Then I think I hear her whisper, "You already have, son."