Family, This One's For You

Captain's blog, stardate 7284.3...
It's quiet here in my dorm. Very quiet. And I like it, for right now, but I'm going to miss you. And I know (or at least my inflated ego makes me think) that you'll miss me too.
So I'm going to say why I'll miss you.
Stephen: You are always adorable, even when you're yelling at me. I love your invention book and all the creative things you come up with. I love your smiles and all the funny things you say (even if you get mad on occasion when I laugh at them). I love how you're always coming up with new ideas. And I love to hug you on the occasions when you let me.
Maggie: You always look up to me and try to get in on whatever I do. I shouldn't get so annoyed about that. You're always so sweet, so cheerful, and so generous. I love the times when we're being silly together and come up with a really funny song or a great idea for a project to do. I love working on comic books with you, even if you never do get yours done and I can't draw to save my life. I love the little presents you make for people at just the right times. I love how you are always around for me when I need you. And I love your enthusiasm and the way you're so kind to everyone.
Mary: Oh, Mary. How I wish you didn't have ballet preventing you from coming to Boston with me. You're one of the best friends I have. I have so many memories of playing Harry Potter and Star Trek with you, and even occasionally Star Wars, even though you hate it. I have the picture of the Enterprise you drew for me on my dorm room wall, and the certificate promoting me to Admiral in my desk drawer. I love how we can have so much fun together whatever we do. I love the fact that if I listed our inside jokes, the list would fill pages upon pages. I love your bright, cheery smile and your laugh. I love how you come up with things ten times funnier than anything I've ever though of, on a regular basis. I love how we're rivals in Trekkieness and could keep chatting till the cows come home. I have been, and always will be, your friend. Live long and prosper. (Spock, Wrath of Khan...but of course you already knew that.)
John: It's been so much fun playing D&D with you, these past few weeks. I love how you tell me everything at your school which could be interpreted in a remotely geeky way, and how we laugh about it together. I love how you let me act like a two-year-old and don't care. I love how we used to have lightsaber fights, and how ridiculous we made the Star Wars characters when we played. I love you, even when you frustrate me, and even when I think you're disgusting. And nothing can make me stop.
Dad: You and your UFOs. Half the time I think we have nothing in common, and the other half I think we have everything in common. I love how you valiantly tried to learn math so that you could talk to me about that. I love how you listen to me blather on and on about eigenvalues, even when you don't understand a word of it. I love how you used to tell me a story every night, and how now you read to the little kids before bedtime. I love the conversations we had on the way back from choir, before I slipped into taciturn adolescence. I love how you've read everything I've ever heard of and then some. And, naturally, I love that you introduced us to Star Trek! That's always important.
Mom: I saved you for last. You are always there for me, always. Whenever I'm upset or confused, you're the one I turn to. You've helped me so much over the years, with everything from writing to socializing to doing the laundry. I love the nights out we used to take, whether down the street to Starbucks or off to watch a show we bought High 5 tickets to. I love how you've always found me the resources I needed, and how you've solved problems I never even imagined could be surmounted. I love your patience and practicality when I'm frustrated and in a panic. I can never thank you enough for all the things you have done for me. I remember when I was in fifth grade and practicing essays for some standardized test. You gave me the topic to write about someone I found inspirational, and I wrote about you. If I had that assignment now, I'd write the same thing again.

I love you all, with all my heart. And I am certainly going to miss you.
All right. Enough with my sentimental prose. I'll see you all again.