Gatherings

Inspirational song: Royals (Lorde)

What a day of extremes. I woke up to a panic, with the man telling me he had let the Pride out for a stroll in the Park, and he was genuinely surprised that the kitten wasn't present and accounted for. In the ensuing desperate hour long search of the house, Park, and neighborhood, I cried out in despair, if she had ever had an experience of running loose in the Park, he would too have known. There would be whole blog posts devoted to it. There would have been a huge color photo spread immortalizing the moment. She had no idea how to comport herself out there, and he let her out and turned his back on her. And on top of that, while I looked for her, that scary man beast made horrible noises, raking leaves off of the cobblestone walk and firing up the lawn mower to suck up leaves from the grass. I was lost without her. The house was painfully quiet. The other cats watched me, wondering why I was crying. I sat on the deck, and said, I have to assume that one of those birds (large birds of prey circling all morning) got her. I stared in silence. And then... I heard a faint voice. Mom? Is it safe yet? The tiniest meow from somewhere. Cars kept driving by, the wind kept rustling the leaves, and I could barely hear the sound. I answered anyway. I told her to come see me. I walked to the edge of the deck, and leaned over and looked. I could see the Minions staring under the deck. Eventually I saw a little black nose poke out. I was so relieved I was just numb. I tried to let her roam a little more, so that she has some idea how to handle this in the future. But what I wanted to do was hold my little queen bee and never let go again.

I had to shake off the panic and get myself in a party mood. Today was the wedding around which we planned the man's vacation. It was way out in the country, at a place that looked like a big red barn-cum-reception hall. It took me a little too long to regain my composure after my Ewok crisis, and I didn't get out of the house until 40 minutes before the ceremony, and it turned out it took 45 to get there. We missed the processional. Everyone was standing, as the event was kicking off, and we snuck in to a back table. The ceremony was in the banquet hall, and in a 2014 wedding, three-quarters of the guests were holding up cell phones, recording and taking pictures. I felt no shame rustling around, getting settled, while everyone else was shifting and moving too. The ceremony was sweet, the bride and groom adorably happy, and there were a dozen or more of my dear friends there to celebrate the glorious event, along with extended family I have enjoyed meeting.

The party has carried over to Bonfire. It's the first one my man has attended in person (not on Skype) since April. If I spend any more time working on the blog, I risk having my phone confiscated. Party on, my friends. I'm coming back now.