My brother and his family came over today and I asked two of my nephews if they wanted to make cookies with me. They eagerly said yes and ran to the kitchen to help. I used to dislike cooking with kids because it always seems to take longer and be messier, but lately I really have grown to love it. The three year old, who thinks he is Batman - so that is what I will call him here, wanted to help dump the ingredients into the bowl and smell the cookie dough as it mixed in the mixer. It was adorable, and his nine year old brother was the same. They were eager to help and really wanted to taste the dough at each stage, which I did not permit because cookie dough doesn't taste good until it's done.
After I put a batch of cookies in the oven Batman wanted to watch them cook, so I went to help him down from the stool he was sitting on and he defiantly said "No! I can just jump off because I'm Batman!" and then proceeded to jump off the stool and run over to the oven to watch the cookie dough "melt".
It is these small little moments that remind me why I love being an aunt so much. It's the messes in the kitchen and the jumping and playing that makes each moment with them so precious. Before long they'll be all grown up and won't want to bake cookies with me anymore. They won't even want to come visit. And I'll wish I had enjoyed those moments more with them when I could. How quickly life passes us by! How quickly those moments slip through our fingers!
Thankfully, Batman is only three and will, hopefully, love making cookies with me for a long long time because he's such a fun kid to have help.
I have been working on a novella lately. It might become a novel, I don't know. I haven't decided yet. There's definitely enough material to make it a novel, but it's a fairy tale, so I kind of wanted to keep it shorter. But it has unlocked so much of LIGHTS background and history. And it's only expanding further and further. It's amazing!! I thought I'd give you a little taste of it, so here you go!
Little background, because this is literally the middle of a chapter that is not at the beginning...Ethne is Cinderella and Keegan is the prince, but Ethne doesn't know he's the prince because he's pretending to be a commoner and is working in a blacksmith shop. He is from a kingdom that can control fire (hence the blacksmith shop) and was the first person Ethne met when she found herself in Solais, which is the kingdom Ian (in LIGHTS) is from. Ethne is training to be a warrior, which she was destined to be because her mother was also a warrior. The warrior's belong to a group called The Order.
One
day, two months after her arrival, Ethne was walking by the
blacksmith shop when Keegan came outside. He bowed respectfully to
her, which Ethne had grown accustom to. It was the common greeting
for all those in the Order. She bowed in return and when she stood
again she noticed Keegan grinning like a fool.
“Why
are you so happy this morning?” She asked.
“I
have just received a letter from home.” He told her.
“Oh?
And what was in this letter?” She wished he’d just tell her, but
he was having too much fun dragging this out.
“There
is to be a ball back in my kingdom. The king and queen have just
announced it. And I am hoping to attend. They say it’s to be a
masquerade. You have not lived until you have seen their ballroom.
The entire length of the ceiling is lit by a fire that never goes
out.” He explained. Ethne had never been to a ball. She had never even
heard of an opportunity to go to one.
“How
interesting. What is the occasion?” She tried not to sound too eager
as she asked. He chuckled lightly before answering,
“You,
of course.” He stated.
“Me?
Why would they be having a ball for me?” She was truly perplexed at
the thought.
“Because
you are of the Order and all those who are new to the order attend a
ball in their honor when their training is complete. Your training
will be finished soon and a ball must be had.” He explained.
“But
why in another kingdom? I’ve never left Solais, why won’t they
host it?” She wondered aloud to him.
“Because
Solais is just part of this world. The rest of the world wishes to
honor its newest warrior. The work you will do here is truly
remarkable and we all wish to pay our respect for your efforts on our
behalf.” He said. There was a glimmer that shined from the corner
of his eyes as he spoke of her strength and effort. She blushed at
the compliment.
“I
really haven’t done anything yet. I don’t deserve a ball.” She
told him.
“On
the contrary. You have already given us hope in the future. You
deserve more than just a masquerade ball. But this is one small way
we can show you how important you are. You must attend.” He
insisted.
“If
I must.” She replied, but in her heart she wanted to go. Especially
if Keegan would be there.
Any way, there you go, a glimpse into my current WIP. I hope to have this draft done by the end of the week, but I've been saying that for weeks, so we shall see!! Let me know what you thought in the comments!!