CHARLOTTE MANNON'S JOURNAL

How I envision Charlotte Mannon

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JOURNAL ENTRIES FOR MARI AND GRAHAM

January 1, 2011 - This is my first journal ever in my 60 years, do you believe that? I bought a laptop so I can just type things out instead of hand writing everything. It is supposed to be easier. Besides, I can have a password to get onto this thing so I know no one will be snooping!

You see, I have a top secret project that I want to organize and writing this journal is going to help me do it. I made a New Year’s resolution - I am going to make sure that one by one my children get married this year. I just can’t leave it up to them anymore, they just don’t ever get it right. I can’t believe my children don’t know how to fall in love, stay in love or pick the right people.

From this point on, learning about my plan will be on a need to know basis only. I made a mistake in telling my dearest husband Ethan about my New Year’s resolution, his response was: Charlotte Mannon will you ever learn. Stay out of their lives. Harumph! He obviously doesn’t know our children very well! I’ll show him! One by one our five children will get married this year, I guarantee it. Now all I have to do is find suitable partners for all of them. I have ideas, but I still need to do a bit of research and double check my facts.

I think I’ll start with Mari, she should be easiest. All I have to do is make sure she and her husband of convenience realize how much they really do love each other. After all, his mother Eleanor has been my best friend for fifty-three years. We will work together. So it is official now, Mari and Graham will be my first ‘victims’.

March 15. 2011 - I am horrible at this journal writing thing! As you can see by the amount of time that has passed since my last entry, things aren’t going well. Eleanor and I must be slipping in our old age, we can’t seem to come up with a plan to get Mari and Graham together for real. The kids are driving us nuts. They love each other, they want each other, so what’s the problem?

If it were up to me, I would put them on a boat together and leave them at sea for a week. They would come back a real couple, I guarantee it. Oh wow! That gives me an idea. Gotta go for now. I’ll write more later.

March 31, 2011 - I found a great way to get Marjorie and Graham together - and maybe get the rest of the group married off too. We’re going to take a family cruise to Alaska. Of course Eleanor, Graham and Sarah will come too. You see, I figure if Alaska helped Ethan and I fall in love then it will also work its magic on the kids. I might just have to make a mistake with the room arrangements or something. Romance on the high seas mixed with the beauty of Alaska! What could be better?

April 11, 2011 - I was two days away from revealing the family cruise to everyone when I found out that Graham and Mari have decided that being married is no longer necessary. Eleanor and I talked for two hours trying to decide what to do. Those kids wouldn’t go on the same vacation now if you paid them to. So, we’ve decided to trick them. Graham and Mari will see each other on this vacation if it kills their poor old mothers.

Gotta go, I have to write in the journals I am keeping on my plans for the other kids. Can you believe I have found mates for all of them now? And everyone is going to be on the cruise and or in Alaska already!

July 11, 2011 - Two days until D-day. Mari and Graham aren’t going to know what hit them. They’ll be mad at first, but someday, they will thank us. I’m sure of it.

JOURNAL ENTRIES FOR OLIVIA AND ALEX

January 1, 2011 - This is my first journal ever in my 60 years, do you believe that? I bought a laptop so I can just type things out instead of handwriting everything. It is supposed to be easier. Besides, I can have a password to get onto this thing so I know no one will be snooping! (And it’s easy to copy and paste so all of my first entries can be the same, without risking hand cramps.)

You see, I have a top secret project that I want to organize and writing this journal is going to help me do it. I made a New Year’s resolution - I am going to make sure that one by one my children get married this year. I just can’t leave it up to them anymore, they just don’t ever get it right. I can’t believe my children don’t know how to fall in love, stay in love or pick the right people.

From this point on, learning about my plan will be on a need to know basis only. I made a mistake in telling my dearest husband Ethan about my New Year’s resolution, his response was: Charlotte Mannon will you ever learn. Stay out of their lives. Harumph! He obviously doesn’t know our children very well! I’ll show him! One by one our five children will get married this year, I guarantee it. Now all I have to do is find suitable partners for all of them. I have ideas, but I still need to do a bit of research and double check my facts.

I sure hope I can find Olivia’s ex-boyfriend, Alex. She was so in love with him and if you ask me, they broke up for the stupidest of reasons. She doesn’t think I know that reason, but I do. I’m the mom after all.

I have no idea where to begin, so I am just going to ask around and try not be too obvious about it. This should be interesting!

March 15. 2011 - I am horrible at this journal writing thing! As you can see by the amount of time that has passed since my last entry, things aren’t going well. I can’t find Alex anywhere! I still have a couple of leads, but I just am not sure if I can pull this off. I know how I’m going to get Mari and Graham together, but so far the plan for Olivia is a failure.

March 31, 2011 - I found Alex!!! And he is in the perfect place to enact my plan. In fact all of the kids will be set up in the same time frame. We’re going to take a family cruise to Alaska, first and foremost to get Mari and Graham together, but guess where I found Alex? He is in Alaska, living in one of the ports we visit. And he runs a tourist business. Olivia is going to take a tour with her ex and they will be putty in each other’s hands! You see, I figure if Alaska helped Ethan and I fall in love then it will also work its magic on the kids. I might just have to make mistakes with room arrangements, or tour arrangements or something else like that. Romance on the high seas mixed with the beauty of Alaska! What could be better?

April 11, 2011 – Things are coming along great! I am going to announce the plans for the family cruise and then all I have to do is make reservations for Olivia to go on the tour hosted by Alex. It will be on me of course, I couldn’t count on her to go if she paid for it herself. If I pay, there is a built in guilt factor, and she wouldn’t dare miss it. Being feared by your children can have advantages!

July 11, 2011 - Two days until D-day. Olivia and Alex aren’t going to know what hit them. Reservations are made and I am even getting a bit of help from Alex’s aunt and even Eleanor. This is going to be one great trip! They’ll be mad at first, but someday, they will thank me. I’m sure of it.

JOURNAL ENTRIES FOR ABIGAIL AND SAM

January 1, 2011 - This is my first journal ever in my 60 years, do you believe that? I bought a laptop so I can just type things out instead of handwriting everything. It is supposed to be easier. Besides, I can have a password to get onto this thing so I know no one will be snooping! (And it’s easy to copy and paste so all of my first entries can be the same, without risking hand cramps.)

You see, I have a top secret project that I want to organize and writing this journal is going to help me do it. I made a New Year’s resolution - I am going to make sure that one by one my children get married this year. I just can’t leave it up to them anymore, they just don’t ever get it right. I can’t believe my children don’t know how to fall in love, stay in love or pick the right people.

From this point on, learning about my plan will be on a need to know basis only. I made a mistake in telling my dearest husband Ethan about my New Year’s resolution, his response was: Charlotte Mannon will you ever learn. Stay out of their lives. Harumph! He obviously doesn’t know our children very well! I’ll show him! One by one our five children will get married this year, I guarantee it. Now all I have to do is find suitable partners for all of them. I have ideas, but I still need to do a bit of research and double check my facts.

Abigail is going to be a tough one. Finding the man isn’t going to be a problem because I think I know who she loves and who loves her back, it’s more than that. Abby went through a horrific trauma back in 2006 and she has never quite recovered from it emotionally. I don’t know what to do for her but I’m hoping maybe love can bring her around to start living again. It kills me seeing my baby girl shutting herself away from the good things in life.

I think I’ll need the most luck for this one because I don’t really have a helper. Of course Eleanor is always there helping do this and that, but Ethan and I are the only ones who know what happened to Abigail, so I’m pretty much on my own here.

March 15. 2011 - I am horrible at this journal writing thing! As you can see by the amount of time that has passed since my last entry, things aren’t going well. I have Abigail’s match made, but I’m not sure how I’m going to get them together here, closer to home, so I can build a plan. Oh, by the way, his name is Samuel and I’ve talked to him several times, helping him with some research. He is very nice and quite handsome - I tricked Abby into sending me a picture of him. You see, he is her assistant at the publishing company, a younger man. I do believe I’m turning my daughter into what they call a cougar…whatever that means. In any case I know he is the right one. He said he would rather die than to see Abby hiding her life away inside that apartment. My heart melted and so will Abby’s if I can get her out of her comfort zone.

March 31, 2011 – Well, I know how I am going to get Abby and Sam together! Oh and I found out what a cougar is…Oh my! What am I doing to my precious daughter? Hehe she needs a little bit of sexy, younger man in her life!!! You see, we are going on an Alaskan Cruise…the whole family, damn it. Now comes the fun part, I have to make Sam want to convince Abigail that she absolutely has to come. I guess in a way that will be easy. If I just mention how I think a cruise would be great for breaking Abby out of her shell then I know Sam will be on board. And I just have to hope and pray that I am right in my belief that she will not come without him. She is swamped all the time at work and I’m sure this would be a working vacation for her so Sam will have to come with her. Keep your fingers crossed.

April 11, 2011 – Things are coming along great! I am going to announce the plans for the family cruise and then all I have to do is make sure that Abby brings Sam. I’ve already hinted a bit in my weekly research conversations with him so I think this will be a breeze!!! I’m still a little worried though. Who says my hopes for this trip mixed with Sam’s love for Abigail will actually help her to live again?

May 1, 2011 – Well, it worked. Sam convinced Abby to go and he offered to pay for himself but she demanded that I pay for him because she couldn’t work without him. They fell for it hook line and sinker!!! I’m soon going to have my Abby girl back. I’ve seen her and talked to her a lot over the last five years, but I’ve missed her. The real her. My baby will be coming back to me.

July 13, 2011 - Two days until D-day. Abigail and Sam aren’t going to know what hit them. I have a specific plan for them. They will get a surprise when they check into their rooms. They will have excursions that I know will make Abigail face some fears and let lose a bit. I can’t wait. They will be mad at first, but someday they will thank me. (And maybe I will be able to get Abigail to come home. We miss her terribly and she hasn’t seen Ethan and the kids for more than a half hour in the last five years when she had a short stopover at the airport two years ago.)

JOURNAL ENTRIES FOR VANESSA AND THOMAS

January 1, 2011 - This is my first journal ever in my 60 years, do you believe that? I bought a laptop so I can just type things out instead of handwriting everything. It is supposed to be easier. Besides, I can have a password to get onto this thing so I know no one will be snooping!

You see, I have a top secret project that I want to organize and writing this journal is going to help me do it. I made a New Year’s resolution - I am going to make sure that one by one my children get married this year. I just can’t leave it up to them anymore, they just don’t ever get it right. I can’t believe my children don’t know how to fall in love, stay in love or pick the right people.

From this point on, learning about my plan will be on a need to know basis only. I made a mistake in telling my dearest husband Ethan about my New Year’s resolution, his response was: ‘Charlotte Mannon will you ever learn. Stay out of their lives.’ Harumph! He obviously doesn’t know our children very well! I’ll show him! One by one our five children will get married this year, I guarantee it. Now all I have to do is find suitable partners for all of them. I have ideas, but I still need to do a bit of research and double check my facts.

I think Vanessa is going to be a fun one. Not super easy, but fun. All I have to do is make sure she and her first lover, Thomas Paulson (My son Jackson’s best friend), get together. As long as I can get them in the same place, I think they can do most of the work themselves. Getting them there could be hard though, because he is a Marine and we are never sure when he might come home. They are so meant for each other! I should have been very upset that, as teenagers, they had a tryst in my pool house, but I couldn’t be too mad because I had hoped they would get together…just not in such a grown up way! Besides they were both adults by the time I found out and there wasn’t much I could do about it then.

March 15. 2011 - I am horrible at this journal writing thing! As you can see by the amount of time that has passed since my last entry, things aren’t going well. I don’t know what I’m going to do, Thomas was almost killed in Afghanistan. We still don’t know if he will even make it. I have to pray for him because I know he loves my baby girl and I want him to live and be loved. And my Vanessa will be devastated if she loses him before she can make things right between them.

If it were up to me, I would send Vanessa to be with him, but she has school to finish. She graduates in May! Ooh, why didn’t I think of it before - I had an idea for the other kids that might just work for these two also. I’ll write more later. I have to make a plan!

March 31, 2011 - I found a great way to get Vanessa and Thomas together - and maybe get the rest of the group married off too. We’re going to take a family cruise to Alaska. I invited Thomas, who is going to be just fine. He is still in the hospital, but his brother Chris assures me that he will be up and about in time for the cruise! How lucky is that! Chris is such a good kid, he vowed to help me in any way possible.

You see, I figure if Alaska helped Ethan and I fall in love then it will also work its magic on the kids. I won’t have to do anything special with these two though. They are so meant for each other that they will probably fall into bed the first night…Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t think too hard on that. ;) Romance on the high seas mixed with the beauty of Alaska! What could be better?

April 13, 2011 – Well, the cruise has been arranged and announced! Chris said Thomas is trying to back out, but we won’t let him. He went through hell in Afghanistan and needs a break with the family who loves him almost as much as his own.

Gotta go, I have to write in the journals I am keeping on my plans for the other kids. Can you believe I have found mates for all of them now? And everyone is going to be on the cruise and or in Alaska already!

July 11, 2011 - Two days until D-day. Vanessa and Thomas aren’t going to know what hit them. They’ll be mad at first, but someday, they will thank me (and Chris). I’m sure of it.

COMING SOON - JOURNAL ENTRIES FOR JACKSON AND DEB!!!