June 28th, 1973

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow's the 29th and that is when we get to go home! Although I kind of hate to admit it, I am going to miss this tree and as always I am going to miss both of my grandparents, but other than that, I am extremely happy. As an added bonus, Grandma's sending us home with some strawberries, cabbage and she gave me two a jars of her delicious jam, dropping hints about where the second jar should go: To the neighbors. Keith will love it! I also haven't heard anything negative from Mom, so Grandma Rose's and her talk must have gone well without references to me. Anyhow…

Today will probably pass by really slow, but that doesn't matter so much because tomorrow will be slow too, until we get home…. Can't wait until we get home… Oh, hold on, here comes Jon. He'll probably want to talk again…


Later June 28th, 1973

Dear Diary,

So, yes, it's me again and it's now after dinner, but I am again in this tree. I guess this is kind of my final farewell to my secret hiding spot for the last week. Once we get back home, I will no longer have a place where I can just sit and write all my feelings out on paper. It'll be back to the old bedroom, writing by the light of a flashlight or lamp, depending on how late it is and how the day went. But, it won't be too bad, I mean, at least Keith will only be a few meters away instead of a hundred miles. I'll get to see more of him and I didn't end up sending that letter I wrote yesterday, so I think I'll just ask him about the tickets in person.

So, anyhow, you're probably wondering what Jon wanted to talk to me about when he got here? Well, it went something like as follows. It was kind of cliché, but at least he was nice about it:

J: So, I heard you go home tomorrow?
D:Yeah, guess so.
J: (Sits silently)
D:(Curious) Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?
J: Huh? Oh, no, not really. (Sits on lowest tree branch)
D: Okay… (Reopens diary)
J: (Suddenly) Actually… yes. There is.
D:(Closes diary)
J: I heard you're going home tomorrow.
D:You already said that, Jon.
J: I did? Oh, well okay…

Alright, so I'll admit it, I felt bad for him. Actually, I felt like I understood him. I mean, Jon and I have a lot in common, not including the fascination with accounting, but we're both shy, quiet individuals who have a hard time with long sentences, unless we're fighting with our parents. Okay, so I've never seen him fight with his parents, I've actually never met either of them, but if he's anything like me, that'd be the case.

So anyhow, I took pity on him and hoped to aid the conversation by saying:

D:So, when are you going back to college?
J: In the fall. Mom and Dad suggested I take the summer off to help at home.
D:(Nods)
J: How about you?
D:I have one more year left of High School.
J: (Seems surprised) Really?
D:Yeah.

The conversation sort of stopped there. He told me to have a safe trip home and that it was nice meeting me. I kind of wonder if his realization of my real age scared him off? I don't know for sure, but anyways, let's be happy? I go home tomorrow, besides, that solves my earlier problem. Now I no longer have the threat of Mom trying to set me up with Jon. He's not interested. So anyhow…

Anxiously Awaiting Tomorrow.

Donna


June 29th, 1973

Dear Diary,

Home sweet home. I am now back in my bedroom. We got home kind of late, so I won't be seeing any of my friends until tomorrow, but that's alright. I'm actually really tired after all that driving, so this entry is going to be relatively short.

Mom still hasn't mentioned her conversation with Grandma Rose, but she hasn't exactly lifted any of my sentences either. I mean, there has been no, 'You know, kids? I was wrong about the Partridge Family. You're right. They're a nice bunch of people,' or anything like that. But, I can still hope. I mean, she didn't said anything negative about them when we got home, but then again, their bus wasn't in their driveway, so maybe they're out on tour? Keith didn't mention that in his letter, so I don't know for sure. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Until then, I guess it's lights out.

Sleepily,

Donna