Good day, Disfriends!
Let's continue along on our Halloweenie. Pausing briefly, now and again, only to get back on track.
I've left off the day before our trip. But we are packed, lightly planned and ready to rock. Mellyman came home as I was putting the kidlets to bed and was pretty surprised to find out we were good to go. He's used to me running around like a maniac the day of the trip, doing a bunch of things I should have done weeks earlier and getting him all whipped up into a frenzy of anxiety and stress to begin his much-needed-and-anticipated relaxing family vacation.
He was surprised how calm and orderly both Me(l) and the house. Were.
So as not to completely disappoint and throw him off "normal"... I told him that I had neither grocery shopped nor packed for their camping trip. And so I had all of that to do the next day. Plus I needed to get litter for the catbox because the storage room in the basement smelled strongly of poo. And also the cat needed food because I realized today that we were out of the stuff he likes and when I tried to feed him from the emergency katkibble supply he looked at me like, "What the hell is that?!". And then he looked at me harder... like, "No more games, housepet." And, finally, when he realized I wasn't gonna pony up the Tender Beef Feast he walked away with one more look over his shoulder which said, "Maybe I can get even."
At that point I think he walked into the dining room and tried to make himself cough up a hairball on the carpet. Then peeked at me around the corner with his little tiny angry pupils, "If it bleeds...I can kill it.".
And, in case you were wondering, YES our cat talks exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And, in addition, he's a huge furry completely black neutered male(ish) cat.
Who crosses my path hundreds of times a day.
Most likely on purpose.
Back on track...
What I was saying with all of that is this: I had a lot of stuff to do the next day before leaving for the airport.
Which I planned out in my head from about four in the morning when I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep till about 6:52 a.m. when our alarm went off.
Our alarm doesn't exactly go off. It sort of climbs up into our bed and snuggles up to me under the blankets smelling faintly of baby shampoo and then breathes a sweet familiar combination of baby teeth/big teeth morning breath in my face. It usually whispers, "Wakey uppy puppy!" and I usually whisper the very same thing back. Our alarm clock is named "Tommy". And I try to make the next, and first, 10 minutes or so of the day last a very very long time.
Then I have to actually get out of the bed and start my day by reminding Calvin that, yes, he needs to brush his hair. With a brush. At least once a day. And that changing his socks daily is NOT an option. And unlock the bathroom door and let his little brother Tommy into the bathroom. Before he pees on the carpet. Then I tell him that I have no sympathy for him because the cat just jumped out of nowhere and bit his leg. As he has been trained to do.
By Calvin.
Then I tackle my morning workout.
Which is dragging, often physically, my thirteen-year-old daughter out of the rack. Usually half-asleep. And uber-pleasant. As I'm sure all teenagers are.
First thing in the morning.
And here's a good tip: They don't usually like to be awakened by song. Especially not by songs from the musical Grease. And super-especially not by their mom singing "Summer Nights". Both parts. But doing Danny's with a much higher voice.
Uh wella wella wella huh tell me more tell me more
Alrighty. I will.
It's a typical Happyhaunt morning.
Except that Mellyman was working from home.
So I dropped the kids off at school and then got him coffee and tried to give him a run-down of my plans for the day.
He said he was in a meeting and he couldn't talk.
I don't know if that was the truth but he sure looked busy at the computer so I went out and ran around with my lists and got everything done.
Yuppers.
All of it. I finished everything exactly 1/2 hour before we were due to pick up Calvin at the school and head to the airport.
I took a quick shower but didn't have time to shave my legs. Which was actually a blessing in disguise b/c I hadn't decided what to wear yet. Which is kinda a big decision. Because... it's cold here when you leave. Both in Canada and in Buffalo at the airport. Then it's hot and stuffy on the plane and then cold and then hot and stuffy. Again. On the plane. Plus... it's HOTHOT once you actually land in Orlando and venture outside hauling your luggage and finding a rental car. After which we were planning on heading directly to DTD for a late dinner. Which is HOTHOTHOT. So... you definitely don't want to be overdressed and wear pants.
I decided on wearing pants. To travel.
With dripping wet hair and no make-up I hit the ground running and got myself into the car at exactly 2:30 p.m. as per Mellyman's orders.
We went to get Calvin at the school. Beth had instructions to come home directly from school with Tommy in tow. They weren't driving to Buffalo with us. They would be staying and finishing up their day at school. But I had stopped by the school with lunch treats during my running around earlier in the day and said goodbye. I absolutely HATE goodbyes. But this went better and quicker than I could have imagined. Tommy hugged and kissed me and asked for a present, Calvin high-fived both his brother and sister and said "Bye" and Beth even let me give her a quick hug and even quicker kiss. Yep. Even in the foyer of the school. In front of several of her girlfriends. And a couple grade 8 boys. So I played it cool and told her I'd call them later. And to have a fun camping trip.
I restrained myself from any elaborate embarrassing show of emotion.
But... it was cute... b/c after she had walked about ten feet away, she turned and mouthed "Love you!" at me from down the hall.
So that was sick.
Whatever that means.
To Me(l)... it meant, well, everything.
Anywho... Mellyman and I drove to the kids' school and I hopped out and met Calvin in the lobby. He was waiting for me with his backpack, ready to go, as per my instructions.
Then I handed Calvin a plastic bag with an entire new set of clothing in it.
Why? Why, you ask?
B/c when I had popped in to see the kids at lunch I had discovered that he was awfully muddy. Uh huh. The clothes that I had figured he'd wear on the plane and to Florida were now too dirty to wear anywhere. Except directly to the laundry room. Not touching any furniture or walls, stepping gingerly... without an excess of motion... and not, absolutely, stopping to bend down and rub the cat's fur. Up and down and against its grain. And squeeze his cat-toes.
I gave Calvin the brand new set of clothes and sent him off to quickly change. QUICKLY change.
I popped into the office and signed him out for the day and gave the secretary a note explaining his absence from school the following day. She asked where we were going and I told her. She thought that it was great and she said she knew Calvin would have a great time.
She knew this because she's spent plenty of time with Calvin in the past.
She's spent time with him in the nurse's room waiting for me to come and pick him up to take him to the doctor's or the hospital. For x-rays. She's spent time with him while he's been waiting to "visit" with the principal or vice-principal. She's let him use the phone when he's forgotten various items at home and wants me to run them over to the school. She's spent time with him when he's been unable to find his brother or his sister after school and needed to call me to find out whether to just walk home by himself. And she's been there a couple times when he's been in looking for his lunch. Which was in his backpack. All along.
She said to have fun.
A good 10 long minutes later he returned with his new clean clothes on and his dirty clothes in the bag.
Minus one sock. I later discovered.
We jumped in the dirtiest van in town. And drove directly to Buffalo and to the airport. Our flight was at 6 p.m.
I asked Calvin how his day was so far... expecting him to be pretty happy and excited for the trip.
Me(l): So... how was your day?
Calvin: It blew.
Me(l): Oh. Really. Because you had to miss your field trip to the Ontario Legislature in Toronto so we could make our flight?
Calvin: No, that part I was pretty happy about. Everyone was jealous that I didn't have to go. It was the stupid grade fours.
Me(l): What about them?
Calvin: I had to sit in their classroom and do homework the whole day because all the other fives were on the trip.
Me(l): So?
Calvin: Grade fours don't know anything.
Me(l): When compared to grade fives? You mean?
Calvin: Exactly.
Me(l): So you must have got all your homework done, right? So you probably don't have any to do on the plane?
Calvin: No. I still have homework. I didn't get it done today.
Me(l): Why not?
Calvin: I had to teach them all about life.
Mellyman: Melly, can you please phone the Border Wait Time number and see which way we should go.
Calvin: I'd take the Peace Bridge if I were you.
We ended up taking the Peace Bridge, too. And I called The General quickly from the car to tell her we were on our way.
Ring. Ring. Ring...ringalingaring. A ling. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. RINGRING.
Ring.
Ring.
(The General is slowing down and doesn't have an answering machine. If she's sitting downstairs it takes a while for her to get to the phone. The phone is cordless. Yet is always kept, answered and talked on, on the chair beside its base. Which is on the same table that the old phone with the cord used to be kept. What I'm saying here is that The General is an old dog. No new tricks.)
Riiiiiiiiing. RIng. RiNG.
The General: Hello.
Me(l): Where were you? In the john?
The General: MELANCHOLY! That's rude.
Me(l): Heh heh. Anywho... I'm just calling because we're on our way to the airport.
The General: You and who?
Me(l): Me, Gene Simmons, Bill Cosby, Bill Paxton and a boy named Sue. Me and Calvin and Mellyman.
The General: Your father had some Bill Cosby records. Remind me to give them to Calvin. He loved them.
Me(l): I remember. Ok. We're probably gonna give you a call from Florida when we get in so you don't worry.
The General: Are Beth and Tommy ok?
Me(l): Yeah. They're fine. Don't worry.
The General: Don't call tonight if it's during the news. I don't want to miss anything.
Me(l): Roger. Canadian election excitement. How will I live without it for five days?!
The General: I'm hanging up now.
Me(l): Why?
Click.
Heh heh.
By then we were almost at the border.
Which meant that it was time for me to check my packing list and carry on bag. To make sure I had everything we needed. Although I don't know why I bothered at this point. It was much too late to go back home and get anything we'd forgotten. I guess I just like being prepared. With the knowledge of what I'd forgotten. Instead of being surprised by it.
Passports?
Check.
Wallet?
Check.
I.d.?
Check.
Camera?
Check.
Double check!!!! Because the camera is crucial. I take many many many pictures on our trips. Most of them are HORRIBLE. Manymanymanymany are horrible. But, since I have so many, some are bound to be ok. This is a classic example of my mad photographic skillz:
Heh heh. As you can see: my head is partially cut off. And in the corner. Calvin's hair... and only his hair... is visible. And this is in Italy at EPCOT but it's real real hard to tell. However... and the upside... because the unintentional subject of the picture has a lovely back... it's a KEEPER!!!!
Heh heh.
Checked for a few more things and declared that, "We didn't forget anything!!!! Booyeah!!!! Baybeee!!!! At least I'm fairly sure we have everything."!!!!!
And we were ready for our Happyhaunt Halloweenie which would be "All about the food!". And THAT was OK with Me(l)!!!!
I love to eat and I love to eat in Disney. Love the Disney food. So that was all good with me, too. In fact, there is only ONE thing I love more than food... and it has three letters.
Yep. Three letters.
Y'all guess what it is?!
I'll give you some hints. It has three letters, I need it EVERYDAY and it makes my blood course and my heart beat.
That right!!! It's: AIR.
Love me some air.
There's also another thing that has three letters and I love and have to have at least ONCE a day.
Nuther hint... it can become a habit and I like it hot and steamy.
That's right!!!! It's: TEA.
Love me some good tea. Guv'ner.
So... I fooled around like this for a bit more in the van and then...
And then we were at the border.
And, then as is our traditional border-crossing threat, Mellyman was reminding Calvin and I not to say ANYTHING...not a THING! NOT A SINGLE THING. Not one thing.... unless we were asked directly. To our faces.
As usual. Or he'd kill us. Or just think about it. With a smile.
We made it across. And were at the airport by 4:20 p.m.
Yep. You heard me.
We're actually at the airport.
In Chapter Two Subsection B.
Well how about that?!!!
Cheers, Mel.
