Playing With the Beasties

Today was an errand running day. I hated wasting a sunny day and could hear the pool calling but sometimes you have just to have to run around. I needed to sign my contract, had some things we needed to pick up from Target, etc. So we bathed dirty beasties, got them dressed, buckled into booster seats, and off we went. It was pretty hideous. Lots of moaning all the way from the parking lot to my office. Panting for water, they dragged their little feet down the path. They threw tantrums when we walked by the soda machines. They complained bitterly for the five minutes it took me to sign my contract. When we left, Piper sobbed all the way to the crossroad, bellowed while we waited for H to bring the van around, cried and tantrumed all the way to Target.

They proceeded to fight throughout Target. Umberto teased Camille until she exploded. When we finally got him calmed down, the girls started in on each other. We were asked to be interviewed for Fox news but I just pointed at the kids. I mean, really did she think we were going to be interviewed with two girls pulling each other's hair? Maybe it would have made good news. By the time we got back to the van, they had stopped fighting but they had transferred into uproarious playing with each other.

Headache. I ended up yelling for silence which resulted in about ten seconds of silence.

Thus our homecoming was tense. Too much yelling, too much stress. A lot of apologizing and hugs.

After dinner, we made up for it. We gathered our beasties back into the van. We parked on a little side road off of North Davidson. The rest of the next two hours was spent roaming through NoDa. We ran, played, talked, and took pictures of each other. We laughed at the Smelly Cat, while we ate our treats. We made plans for the future. We chased cats down allies, and sometimes were blessed with a chance to pet soft fur. We were surrounded by enormous, friendly, New Foundland dogs, who licked the kids. We saw a violet sky---the backdrop for a glowing skyscraper and some Spanish moss. In those twilight moments, we let go of the stress, the loudness, the headaches, and just lived.