Chapter 4: A Nature Walk and Cookout in Swissvale
The next day, I met some of my other best friends Alex Russo, Justin Evans, Max Greenwald, and Carly Shay, as well as Carly's parents, Sam and Freddie, at a nature park in Swissvale. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Alex greeted back. "Is everybody excited for our nature walk today?" I asked. "I know I am," Carly replied. "It is not really a good idea to camp out in the rain overnight," Alex pointed out. "Not to mention, we also have a Childhood Chat today and we can do the first segment on our walk, and then when we sit down to eat, we can do the second segment." As we set off for our walk, the topic was 5 days of Halloween for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015. Nicole Ellis discussed 5 northern suburbs that she visited in the 4th grade on Halloween, Hannah Mifflin discussed 5 eastern suburbs that she visited in kindergarten on Halloween, Emma Wallace discussed 5 southern suburbs that she visited in the 6th grade on Halloween, Madison Dayley discussed 5 western suburbs that she visited in the 2nd grade on Halloween, and Kayla Jennis discussed 5 Pittsburgh neighborhoods that she visited in the 8th grade on Halloween. "I like the last one best," Carly admitted. "I think we should celebrate Halloween in Pittsburgh this year and do all of those fun things mentioned, like a scavenger hunt, video games, watching a movie, writing and acting out a play, and making a snowman with fake snow. I remember doing some of those fun things for Halloween when I was in 8th grade, too." "Yes, but I work on Saturdays," I pointed out. "But, we will definitely do all of that stuff on our own time!" "I hope that they make a childhood chat for when we were in high school," Alex pointed out. "Like doing different activities and throwing different parties in the spring," Justin added. "Of course," Max agreed. "That was a lot of fun!" "Hopefully, they do not talk about watching a scary movie with a stuffed animal or pulling pranks while baking cookies," I mentioned. We then sat down to eat dinner, which was fried fish, hamburgers, hot dogs, s'mores, and trail mix. Due to my discussion group at the office in Monroeville with Sarah, James, and Henri the previous day, we had the next 6 girls discuss coping skills that they had learned as they were planning parties. "Gosh darn it," I stated. "I feel so bad that you guys do not get to participate in the Childhood Chat!" Kaitlyn and Colleen Marioni discussed making a chocolate mess in kindergarten and then laughing and playing the clean-up game to cope with the situation. Rachel Luster discussed her reaction to her first scary movie at 2 years old and then watching something kid-friendly and cheerful on TV to cope with the situation. Taylor Paulson discussed her reaction to her cold feet at a slumber party back in 8th grade and then knitted some comfy socks to keep her feet warm. Abigail Mifflin discussed help on baking cookies for a slumber party back in 8th grade and told her older brother that he was the head chef, so he could help plan the party. Lauren Bennett discussed her fear of dressing up as a bumblebee at a garden party in 2nd grade and made a joke that she was a special star of the show. Victoria Spurnick discussed her fear of looking good for a summer party at 17 years old and then ended up getting a manicure at a salon to cope with the situation. "Well, this was something that I brought up at the meeting yesterday," I pointed out. "So, it makes sense that we discuss coping skills with our clients!" After dinner, it was time for all of us to leave. "Thanks for a great day, guys!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Alex replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"