Feline/Canine Summit Failure

Yesterday saw the springing of an ambush on the BFA and my son.  The BFA’s parents were picking up the honeymooners in Boston as they returned from Hawaii.  They asked if we would come up for breakfast and surprise the returning couple.  A great plan except the BFA’s mother insisted we bring Buddy the Wonder Pooch along to greet his favorite human, my son. 

The plan had the BFA’s beloved cats isolated in the basement while Buddy held court on the first floor. Buddy immediately picked up the scent of something feline and was scouring the first floor in an unsuccessful attempt to locate the cats.  He contented himself with a catnip mouse which hung forlornly from his mouth as he paced about.  He barely noticed my son as he was transfixed with the intriguing smells. 

The Newlyweds - Son and BFA

The BFA’s cats are huge and have dominated other visiting dogs so the BFA’s dad thought we ought to give them a chance.  They eyed each other for about five seconds before the cat realized this dog wasn’t being intimidated and decided to leave the room.  Buddy interpreted this as an indication the cat would like to be chased.  Chaos ensued as several humans tried to tackle Buddy in the midst of his hot pursuit as plants, tables, and even a heating vent were knocked out of place.  Buddy spent the rest of the visit in his cage admiring the front yard flora and fauna while the cat tried to re-acquire his shattered calm behind a corner table.

This small, yet exciting, episode couldn’t detract from the time spent with some of my favorite people.  The newlyweds were understandably exhausted and not just from their honeymoon efforts.  Anyone who’s ever made the flight from Hawaii to the East Coast will understand the mind numbing price of all that time in the air.  They consider the price well worth the time spent in Hawaii itself.  They finally got a chance to decompress from the months of stress associated with the wedding plans, et al. 

Breakfast on the Deck

We lived in Hawaii when my son was in second grade and he hated it because the Hawaiian kids were fairly racist and would pick on the blond headed haole mercilessly.  He claims they’re still picking on him because he was selected out of the crowd at the luau they attended and “forced” to go up on stage with a beautiful Hawaiian lady to perform a hula dance.  There was a big group brought up on the stage and he thought he could meld into the group until his escort informed him he was to be the star of the show.  Everyone else departed the stage and he had to perform for the 500 people there.  Luckily he had several mai tais down range at this point.  The BFA said it was one of the funniest things she’s ever seen and promised pictures of this signature event for the blog.

The Moms Consult

As with any time spent with this group it sped by and the “kids” really needed to get on their own way home to begin the battle with jet lag.  We had to return our recalcitrant hound dog for additional feline sensitivity training so we reluctantly said goodbye.  This really felt like the last chapter being closed on the son/BFA wedding and I didn’t want it to end.

I had to return because I had a project envisioned at home where I was going to repair all the minor nicks and gouges the pain in the house has sustained over the last nine years.  It was an interesting project as I tried to match colors with paint cans that hadn’t been opened in the ensuing nine years. My wife assumed her role as Greek Chorus to my efforts and I prayed that each new color would dry to match. 

Yesterday, the 23^rd of August in the year of our Lord 2014 shall be remembered for another momentous event.  I invited my wife to go out dancing and she eventually declined.  Those who know her know that my next remark was concern for her health.  This is a woman who was out dancing when she was 8.9999 months pregnant.  She never misses out on a chance to cut some rug.  She spent the better part of the evening up trying on different outfits and seeking PanaGal input with texted photos.  She asked me for my opinion on several outfits.

Those marital lessons continue to pay off dividends as I wandered into that minefield and told her she looked fabulous for each one.   We were getting close to departure time when she said she didn’t want to go. I think she exhausted herself from all the wardrobe changes or just felt the accumulated effects from the past few weeks of celebration.  We contented ourselves with an old Schwarzenegger movie since his new stuff is so bad.  She did finally reach a decision on dancing attire and said we would use it in a couple weeks when she had recovered her mojo.