Armistice Day

Last Saturday was Armistice Day, or remembrance Day, or Veterans Day, depending on which side of the border you hail from, or what you choose to remember. I like to remember it as Armistice Day, and it was the first time in 3 years that I wasn't in Canada to see everyone wearing poppies. Honestly I missed that part the most.

I had spent the night at A's, and woke up early, as I usually do, and sat on her couch watching Bravo reruns of Six Feet Under. A works in a bank, and it was her first Saturday off in months, so she wanted to sleep in, so I was quiet. I was, but my cell phone rang around 11, and it wasn't particularly quiet. I answered as quickly a possible to minimize the amount of disturbance. It was my step-sister calling, she was going to come down from Great Lakes to the city. I offered to buy her the birthday lunch I didn't get to buy her the week before, on her actual birthday. She accepted and asked me what the plan was.

That's when I realized I had made lunch plans for A and I, and she wasn't even awake yet. "Let me check with her, and I'll get back to you in 15 minutes or so," I said. I felt like an idiot, but if worse came to worse, I could always go it alone. I gently woke A up and asked her if she wanted to go, and she did, but she wanted to take our time. I called my sister back and told her we'd meet her at 1, which gave us tons of time to get ready.

We picked up my sister and her boyfriend a little after 1, and headed over to grab some lunch and had some very nice conversation, which somehow or another got steered over to perfumes. My sister wanted a new perfume, and A knew just where to go. I braced for the inevitable- I was going shopping. I rolled my eyes. I secretly dreaded what was coming next. We headed to Water Tower Place and went straight to the fragrance department of Macy's, which, as you might suspect, gave me a headache almost instantly. Too much, too soon. Fortunately, we found what she wanted right away, and then headed out into the mall.

There was talk of going t-shirt shopping- apparently the Navy doesn't provide very comfortable t-shirts. A offered to go with my sister, and leave us guys to fend for ourselves. I took a quick survey and found a saving grace- the high-end games shop, with all the cool toys and fun board games you don't usually get to see. I mean, South Park Chess, people. How could I resist?

We managed to occupy ourselves there for a bit, then I got tired, so I found a comfy chair and had a seat, made a couple phone calls, and then A and my sister arrived. They had fun together, and I got to meet A's sister in the process. It was quite the full day. What's up next in my adventures with a sister in the Navy? Thanksgiving, which, a few months ago, I had pictured completely differently than now.