I drop my bag at the door; fling off my snow boots and sprinted by the full bags as I jog up the stairs. I can smell the dry wood burning in the big fire place as I run past the tall bookcases and spin on a sharp turn, jogging towards my tiny couch. I could hear the fire crack as I dodge pillows, bags, and a small work out trampoline. I have now marked my sleeping spot for the next week. “This is my new room,” I say to myself as I drop myself onto the couch with a sigh.

Every year our family and close family friends all gather together in their red winter house. Kids of all ages would gather into a massive, spacious room. We would all spread our bags and clothes out through the room. We would all get to our bed, couch, or futon at night and talk until we fell asleep at night.

There was about 12-15 kids that would sleep in the massive room, except for about 2 kids that would end up in another room with their parents. Whenever we got there we would all run up the giant room and get to “our spot”. Over the years we all seemed to just mold to our spots and grow to our new comfort zone or the weekend. Its kind of like moving all your stuff out of your room and then moving back. You come back into your empty room and you have to make it fell like home again, you have to bring all you personal touches to re-mold your space. As we unload our stuff out onto the space around our couch or futon I think about where I put all of its stuff into its own place so I can mold my stuff in again.

One night, when we were all getting ready for bed and getting prepared for the next day, everyone laid around in their newly molded spots. Some were listening to their iPods, watching something on their laptops and the one person that was reading a book or magazine. Later on in the night we managed to end up talking to each other. As we lay on our backs, spread out through the massive room I stared at the tall selling. The lights out cold with just small yellow stream of light running out onto the carpet from the crack of the bathroom door. We laid there for hours just staring wide eyed at the dark, slow moving fans up high.

As one person spoke in a loud whisper, I would close my eyes trying to grasp a mental image of them. As I would find a clear image of them I open my ears wide and I feel like I can see them talking to us. As another person started to talk I felt a quick chill sprint down my spine into my knees. My knees now tingling I move them shifting my body. As I shifted a smidge more and wrap myself tighter into my silky blue and yellow sleeping bag I listen to the person who is speaking. Pulling myself even tighter into my sleeping bag it makes soft squishy noise. I make myself smaller by pulling in my knees and tucking my hands under my stomach so I can fit onto the small lumpy couch.

That night, later on my cousin Jake joked about how he was going to go skiing tomorrow in my sister’s bikini. The room filled with laughter as he told his plan for the day. You could always tell who was awake by the way that the laughs rang off the selling. As the room calms and the air feels softer my eyes started to flicker. My head would fall and my neck would bounce it back up, its too late now. As my eyes start to flood with darkness I can hear the last couple of sleepy mumbles before I drift off into sleep.

I always would think that this is the way it should be every year, with all of us talking and laughing together. No one is being left out and it all just seems to fall into place. I loved how we all lived together and learned to share. It was crazy that is maybe the one time we get to see some of these people a year, but still we feel so close as if we lived together all year. But in reality we have maybe only seem them 10-12 times overall. I loved getting to do this and cant wait to see what crazy things will happen in the years to come, maybe not as crazy as Jake skiing with the bikini but still fun just because we are all together.

The next morning when I woke up I could feel that the once calm, soft air had been broken up into a cooler, choppy feeling. I knew that I hadn’t missed much after I feel asleep last night. I knew by the sound of the people down stairs that the younger ones had left for ski lessons and that mostly everyone was still asleep. As I sat up I saw that bikini lying out had been moved and wasn’t there any more. As I sat up Jake and my brother weren’t there. I knew then that this only meant that they had gone on their way to the mountain with the bathing suit somewhere close by.