Labor Day Weekend

We've just returned from our days at Mayberry.... we drove there with our dog Gracie, and three of our cats--- AngelBoy, Mickey Kitty, and ShadowBaby. I honestly thought that our cats would be happier being with us at the cottage than being here with the pet-sitter.

Silly me. Cats are cats and that's that. They want to be in their own space, and they really don't like any variations in their routine. Our vet had told me that. I should've listened. Our cats love our pet-sitter.... and they love their screen-porch here. And even though I fixed up the screen-porch at Mayberry to look like the porch here, they weren't fooled at all.

I thought Mickey Kitty, being the youngest cat, would be the most adaptable. He was the worst.... he started meowing in the car when we pulled out of the driveway, which got the other two to start. The meows lasted for the first five miles or so, then they just started to meeew quietly until they fell asleep, thankfully.

When we got to Mayberry, the cats hid under the railing of the screen-porch.... they just flattened themselves up and they were folded up in five inches of space between the floor of the porch and the bottom of the railing. Broke my heart to see that, I swear. AngelBoy didn't even sit in his favorite little chair up on that porch, and Mickey Kitty came out of his hiding space just long enough to eat and use his litter box.

At times, we opened up the window to our bedroom so the cats could go from the screen-porch to our room, but all they did was hide under the bed. They came out a little bit at night, but you could just see how frightened they were. Long story short.... it just wasn't worth it to bring them up there for just a few days. By the time they were getting settled and comfy up there, it was time to put them back into the crates to drive them home. I've already talked to the pet-sitter..... he'll be taking care of all the cats from now on when we go to the cottage.

But.... on the bright side, and there is always a bright side..... our young friend C came up to Mayberry this weekend, along with her best friend M, and her parents, of course. C and M had one fine, fun weekend.... they fished, raced boats, they played board-games, they watched the alligator swimming in the cove. M is a budding chef, and he baked a pan of cinnamon buns for all of us (from scratch)..... absolutely delicious. C caught the biggest fish of the weekend.... and my husband took a picture of her holding the fish on the line....... the pure joy that is on that child's face is just radiant. When I saw that photo, it brought tears to my eyes. C is always a happy girl, but that picture is just beyond words. I asked my husband to print out the picture for me, and I will frame it and keep it up at Mayberry.

This morning, C had set the alarm clock on her cell phone for 7:00...... when I asked her why she wanted to get up that early, she said that she didn't want to miss a minute of the morning. C told me that the lake is magic in the mornings..... "it's so quiet, and you can hear the birds and the trees, and you can see the turtles in the water... it's just all so beautiful." Well, of course I knew that, but to hear those words from a 15-yr-old girl was more magical to me than the "magic" of the lake.

C is such a special child, and I know she's going to grow into an extraordinary adult. And I've said this before..... C will be the "keeper of the memories" for my husband and I. Nothing we do for and with that child goes un-noticed or un-remembered or un-appreciated.

C and M and C's parents left the cottage about an hour and a half before we did this evening, so of course they got home first. C called us to make sure we got home, and also to ask me a question. She wanted us to think about this.... having a "small Halloween party at the cottage, with just our family ---- you and Mr. G, my mama and daddy, and me, of course." C's idea is for each of us to wear a Halloween costume, and we could make caramel apples at Mayberry and play Halloween games.

Before that child had finished the sentence, my eyes were puddling up because she referred to my husband and I as her family. How could we not love this child?

I told C that I would discuss her creative idea with "Mr. G," as she calls him.... and I did that when I got off the phone. Having a small Halloween party at Mayberry would mean not having our usual Halloween Charades party here. In my opinion, C isn't going to be a child for many more years. I would enjoy having a "family party" at Mayberry for her while she's still young enough to want such a thing. So my husband and I are talking about it, and we'll let C know our decision. I have a feeling that C might want to amend her request, and ask us if she can invite one of her best friends as well.

But.... one step at a time. Right now, our cats are all settled into their own little napping places here.... they're happy to be home..... they didn't care about the "magic of the lake" at all. And I guess AngelBoy has forgiven me because he's curled up right at my feet as I type. All is right in his little blue-eyed cat world.