🏫

"Normally they're contained to the studio, which means keeping an eye on them is much easier." Kenzie mused, letting out a chuckle. "Oh, you don't have to do that. But I'll say yes to the company." The festival was almost overwhelming and having someone to wander through it with would certainly be welcome.

"This one alone keeps me on my toes," Shayna laughed, gesturing down to her daughter who's hand she held as her side. "Okay, don't think of it as parent treating teacher, more friend treating friend. I'm more than happy to hang out for a bite, if you'll have us. Now what do you feel like grabbing?"

Lottie laughed shaking her head for a moment, looking at Shayna's piece of work and smiled, "To be honest, yours looks good, I wish mine would look like that." She giggled looking over at the girl for a brief moment as she hand through her hair for a brief moment, "Maybe I could rectify it or just be proud however it turns out."

"If it's of any comfort, I'm sure I do this a little more often than you.. I hand make a lot of the seasonal decor at work." Part of Shayna's philosophy in being a long time nurse at the school compound included making the office a warm, inviting space for whenever students needed health assistance. "Maybe you can outline?" she suggested, trying her best to think of ideas to help Lottie with her painting. "Or you can just scarp it, do an all white over it and start over..."

"You're truly an angel," Kennedy gushed, as she traded the offerings from Overlook for one of the cups Shayna brought. The best of both worlds, so to speak, and the same amount of time waiting, she gave a nod at the question. "Suppose I can use a break," she gave an airy laugh, knowing that although she was happy hanging around her booth, it was in good hands for the time being, and she needed a well-deserved break. "What do you say we grab a spot by the stage, catch some music, and see what we get up to after?"

"Leave it to me to make sure everyone is staying fed and hydrated!" Shay truly lived to care for others. Whether it be her daughter, the children at school, her friends. Food and forcing some down time was the least that she could do for someone like Kennedy. "I'm just happy that you're even willing to take a break. Music and food, who can beat that? Let's go grab some seats." Shayna happily led the way toward the stage, making conversation as the pair walked. "How has the booth been going? It looked busy when I was by earlier."

Lottie laughed a little, "I don't think I am overthinking it. It really does look bad, it's meant to be the beach with palm trees. It just looks a mess." She giggled shaking her head for a moment, "I guess you're right. I just need to have fun, but this does need to be salvaged."

"I can see it! I see it! I swear!" Shay's laughs made it a tad less convincing but truly, Lottie wasn't doing all that terrible. "If it makes you feel better, I also went with a simple landscape. Sun. Grass. Trees." Shayna turned her own art piece toward Lottie to show her own work,not exactly a masterpiece itself.

spring fling - open

"What? Having these monkeys all day exhausting?" Shay teased, her own dancing tyke at her side. "But just for being such a great teacher, sweet treat is on me!"

with: lottie & open (capped at 4/5)

"You're overthinking it," Shayna chuckled as she looked over at Lottie's work. "It's not that bad! I swear!" She reassured the younger woman after having properly assessed her rock painting, being truthful. "Just have fun with it!"

"Oh, I can imagine! Getting to see everyone fuss over her, I bet it was exciting to see," and the kind of heart warming feeling that reminded you of why you had gone home to begin with, why you wanted to spend time with people who loved you. That was how Ashleigh felt any time that she made it back to Texas, or whenever she got to see her parents anywhere else, for that matter. "Not as often as my mom and dad would probably like me to, don't get me wrong, but I try to visit once a year. I'm looking forward to having them come out here now, though. I feel like Merrock's the kind of place they'll want to visit." It really was a cute little town, a place that parents could feel comfortable in, not that Ashleigh had ever really lived anywhere that her parents hadn't felt comfortable, but still. "And you like it? Working at the school, I mean -- I've heard a lot of good things about the school district from the parents in the program and just people around town in general," which must have been a good sign, because people typically didn't hesitate to complain if they weren't happy with something. "She's still a young girl, only seven. I got her when she was still green, trained her myself."

"It was great! I'm hoping to be able to take her back this year, or next. Now that she is preschool aged and capable of retaining memories, I would love for her to get some quality time with extended family. I have cousins with kids her age and I would love for her to get time with them," she explained. "I imagine that most parents will always want more time with their kids. I can understand once a year not being enough. But I would absolutely encourage having them come to visit! Merrock is hard not to love," she encouraged. At the question of how she liked her job Shay smiled. "It is a great district! I've been with the school over twenty years. I love it. I love taking care of the kids," she nodded. It was the honest truth. Whether it was the hectic middle of flu season, or the stereotypical handing out of ice packs, Shayna genuinely loved her job. She wouldn't have stuck it out this long if she hadn't. "Oh, that's awesome! She's a beauty."

"Although it is a little funny now to think of a bunch of teenagers dancing in our clothes at prom, given that we're remembering what it was like to be teenagers slow dancing at formal functions," he laughed, knowing there was some truth to it. Cyclical, or what not. Everything came back around, found a second purpose. "Oh, I bet that's fun for you, though! Getting to make shopping trips, offer advice... defend your style choices whenever she pulls out old photos or yearbooks."

"While we slow dance at a formal function?" she asked with a giggle. "These things probably keep us from missing high school, a bit." Of course, she had the additional encouragement of seeing high school first hand every day. Something she did not want to go back to. "She's not quite old enough to throw my old looks back in my face yet, but I know it's coming in a few years. I made some.. very questionable style choices, back in the day. It was the 90s! At least that's my excuse. The ultra thin brows, the overlined lips, it's all back! But it likely will be back out by the time Zo is a teenager. But right now, I am enjoying all of the pink and frilly, girly everything, because it is just so not me."

Darcy stood there looking through the box as she looked over at the girl for a brief moment before smiling, the box was full of a load of things before looking at her and nodded, "Is she enjoying it? Four is a wonderful age for dancing especially but just a wonderful age. Not that I remember much about being four." She laughed a little, before finding a bottle that kind of matched the description, "Oh is this it?"

"She is! She loves it," Shayna grinned. "I think we would be here more often if we could make it work with my schedule," she further admitted. "It is great! So far, I'm enjoying four. It's wonderful watching kids as they develop their own personalities and truly start to present as their on person." She had spent so many years watching the kids in school grow from small children to adulthood. It was now even more meaningful watching her own daughter grow more and more every year. When Darcy pulled out a bottle matching what Shayna had described from the box, the older woman smiled. "If it says Zoey on it, that's it!"

"That's great, though! Is it normally a big deal when you come home, like… big cook-outs and parties and the whole family getting together?" Because that was what it was like every time Ashleigh went back home. Bust out the picnic tables and grills and all night music and bonfires, she knew she was always going to have a good time. "It's beautiful, I really did love growing up there, no complaints. I was ready for something new when I left home, but it's so nice to go back and visit, spend time with family and friends," and get to know the area all over again as an adult, too. "Of course," she smiled, nodding her head, "did you stay close for college, or end up traveling?" It was always interesting to her to see where people ended up, after all. "She's a good girl," she reached up to rub Dusty's nose gently, "a little sassy. Ginger horse and all, but she's my girl."

"Typically! It depends on why I am in town. Sometimes, it's for a family wedding or something of the sort. Obviously, in those cases, it's less about me. But my last trip was for everyone to meet my daughter, which was quite fun!" Shayna's face lit up at the memories. No matter how much she considered Merrock home, there was nothing like time getting to visit with family. "I understand that," she nodded, more or less understanding what Ashleigh meant about leaving home for something new, but appreciating the chance to return home. "Do you go back, often?" she returned the question. "I didn't go too far, no," she shook her head. "I went to the University of Southern Maine in Portland. That was my only time away from Merrock. I returned after graduation and I've been here, working at the school ever since." And Shayna liked it that way. She was just far away enough to not come home every weekend in college, providing her with the opportunity to grow into adulthood with a typical college experience. Then, when she was ready she returned to Merrock and had spent the last two decades giving back to the community by caring for their children. "How old is she?" she asked, regarding Ashleigh's horse. "How long has she been with you?"

"Sure, and that sounded perfectly fine and valid when we were teenagers, hearing it from people who were twenty years older than us," back when they didn't have to think about being full grown adults, back when they didn't have to worry about whether or not their clothes were in style. At least he didn't need to worry too much about his clothes not being in style. Firstly, because jeans and t-shirts never went out, and secondly, because he just didn't care all that much. "I agree. And when there's so much waste in the world, I don't want to contribute to it," or let his clothes get eaten by moths from where they hung in the very back of his closet. "Ah, of course! Is she very into clothes at this age?"

Shayna giggled in amusement as Jason described the difference between when they were teens versus now that the two were in their 40s. He wasn't wrong. "All for the better good," she grinned in agreement of the sentiment that donation was the best option. "Oh yeah! She's at the age of wanting to style herself, so she loves new clothes."

"Do you visit frequently?" she asked curiously, knowing that she should probably make a little more time to do that, herself. Ashleigh only really had her parents as family, and she didn't get to see them nearly as often as she should; although she had a feeling that they would come visit once she was fully settled in and… well, once the cold had let up. "I'm from Austin, on the outskirts, not in the middle of the city or anything," she had grown up on the same ranch that her parents still lived on, the one that made up so many of her memories of girlhood. "Right on the cusp of remembering what it was like, but also making lots of new memories here, I'd imagine." At Shayna's question about her horse, she gestured for her to follow. "Her name is Dust Bowl Lady," she said as they approached her stall, the big chestnut's head with its perfect white blaze and large, friendly eyes popping over the stall door, "but I call her Dusty."

"Every few years, at least!" Shayna probably would have preferred to visit extended family more often, especially her grandparents, however, it simply wasn't feasible to return more often some years. "Oh, the Austin area is great!" She understood what Ashleigh meant when explaining that she was from the outskirts as opposed to the city center. "Exactly that. I've been here ever since! With the exception of a few years for college," she explained further. Shay followed Ashleigh over to visit her own horse. "Dusty. It's cute, I like it!"

"Ridiculous," he half mumbled, unable to help himself. Jason felt old sometimes, but old enough to be considered an antique in a secondhand shop? Old enough that he was vintage? "It is kind of weird to think about it that way. That how they felt about bell bottoms coming back in style is how we feel about… well, you name it." Granted, Jason hadn't been super fashion forward as a kid, he had just worn jeans and a t-shirt like most people, but it was still weird to think about the things that they wore being … vintage. "Happy to help motivate, in that case," he said with a grin. "But I get it. I try to cycle my stuff through as often as I can, I don't like to buy unless I donate or give away clothes first, and really only try to buy new when I have to. Especially in a town like this, we have great secondhand options."

"You know what they say! Twenty year cycle and what not." As much as Shayna hated to admit it, her thirty year high school reunion was quickly approaching. Nothing surprised her about the fashion cycle anymore. Especially having spent nearly two decades now working as a school nurse, a front row witness to all of the trends and fads. Even if she wasn't so much the fashion type, herself to keep keep up with any of it. "It's a good cause, something useful to spread the word about," she smiled. "Trust me, I might still have a closet twice the size you do, but I try to do the same. Especially these days, if I'm buying new, it's for Zoey."

"Ah, so you're from out my way!" Ashleigh said with a little bit of excitement when Shay said that she had come from Oklahoma. "I've been through Oklahoma plenty of times, being a Texas girl. This is a pretty big change from there, for sure," her eyes widened a little bit at the thought, knowing that she could relate to it, even if she had moved as an adult, so it was a little bit different. "Still, I bet it feels like a bit of distant memory, now, since it was so long ago," being in elementary school meant that she had been pretty young, probably made most of her memories there in town. "I've been settling my girl into the barn, too, it took her a bit, but I feel like she's finally made a few friends. Doesn't pin her ears quite as much."

"I am!" Shayna confirmed with a nod. "It is a big change between here and there, that's for sure. I still have family back home, and actually have some extended family back in Texas too. So I do still occasionally visit. What part of Texas are you from?" she asked filled with curiosity after explaining her own origins. "Distant.." she nodded with a chuckle. "I was about.. ten?" Old enough to remember her life in Oklahoma, young enough that she quickly assimilated to life in Merrock and had continued to make the town home as an adult. "Which one's yours? What's her name?" she asked, not having spent too much time at the ranch since Ashleigh had come around.

Darcy stood there looking over at the girl before she walked towards the lost property box. She smiled looking over at her, "Well I can have a look in the box, we tend to get a lot of things. Children easily forget so this might take a while." She smiled, "How long has Zoey been coming to classes here?" She smiled trying to make conversation as she looked through the box for the bottle.

"Tell me about it," Shay chuckled at the comment of how children were forgetful. Toddlers especially so, she was learning. "Thank you, I appreciate your help," she thanked Darcy. "It's been about a year! She started at three. She just turned four in December."