NEVER A DULL MOMENT

I tripped off to Pittsburg yesterday to visit with the family. The inspiration for today's blog title comes from the family of my nephew Brandon and his wife, the unflappable Saint Mary--so named by me because she always handles chaos with grace.

My stop at their house started calmly enough with Maddie and me reading about a family of ogres. Then she decided, "Aunt Nancy, you need a makeover. We'll start with your hair," she said. "I think I'll braid it."

But once she pulled off the scrunchy, she started having second thoughts. "Your hair is a lot longer than I thought. It's so thick. How did it get so long?" she kept saying as she struggled to get a brush through it. She ended up putting it into two "dog ears" and then decided to just go back to the pony tail. To heck with the braiding. End of makeover. Hopeless case.

The boys soon joined us in Maddie's bedroom, bearing a humongo box of Sugar Pops and... Stripes the Kitten. I committed a cardinal auntie error by showing them how to toss a Pop into the air and catch it in the mouth. Of course, every Pop they threw went flying across the room. William just ended up grabbing handful after sticky handful of Pops and laying them on Maddie's bed so he could eat them at his leisure.

Now, to Stripes. I don't know who the Patron Saint of Felines is, but he is certainly watching over the new pet. "Be nice to the kitty," I kept telling William, as he chased, tossed, and hugged a bit too tightly. The terrible twos are alive and well. I didn't think I was getting through to him until later, when Stripes was cuddled on my lap, conked out after a wacky claw trimming session that Maddie and I forced upon her. "Be nice to the kitty," he directed me, over and over again. Hooray!

Later, Stripes went missing in action. Brandon kept hearing a panicky meow, so we all went in search mode. "Kitty, kitty! Here Stripes." Not under the beds. Not fighting with the dogs. Not in the toilet. Nothing. Finally, he found her--shut between the two front doors after Girl Scout cookie delivery. No harm done. --I won't even try to describe what 150 boxes of cookies looks like in a living room.

There is a good reason why only young people should have children--actually three reasons--and their names are Maddie, Boomer, and William. Thanks for the laughs, kids.