KIds, dogs, and good times

My house is alive with laughter and shouts and pandemonium tonight. At various times there have been seven adults, five grandchildren, and four dogs. The kids have played ball in front to the point of exhaustion, the dogs have hesitantly gotten acquainted with each other--each of us protective of our own dog(s), and the adults have occasionally risen above the clamor to have a civilized conversation over wine. Dinner was the most haphazard that's ever been served in my house--Colin arrived at three, went down the street to get pizza because he hadn't fed his children lunch; Jordan arrived at 4:30 and put out cheese, crackers, and hummus because Subie and Phil came by to see the kids--I think I scared Phil out of bringing his guide dog. Jamie arrived about 5:30, bringing food from Ernesto's. I didn't want any of that, so Colin went to Railhead and got me a chopped beef sandwich, and ribs for Jamie and himself. I knew in advance there was no sense trying to cook a family meal and seat us all at the table--Jamie and Colin ate their BBQ standing at the kitchen counter. So many many days I miss my parents but today I was glad they weren't here to see their grandchildren's idea of a meal.
The occasion is Jacob's ninth birthday tomorrow. There will be a swimming party at eleven and supper at five--I am bowing out of the swimming party and will pretty much have a quiet day at home. We are missing the Austin branch of the family and their absence--with two more boy cousins--leaves a whole, but they are enjoying Brandon's 25th reunion at Dartmouth.
Colin has now gone to take all five children to Jordan's house to spend the night. We were surprised the older girls (Maddie 16 and Eden 12) wanted to go but they did. I will admit that a nice peacefulness settled over the house when they left. But I will welcome them back tomorrow night.
There's something indescribably wonderful watching these children play together, considering they range in age from sixteen to eight. Maddie, who has often said she wants to work with children, has always been wonderful with each new cousin that came along, and each thinks he's her favorite. She's in that twixt and tween stage-part adult, having driven her own bright red jeep over here from Frisco, and yet playing as hard as any of them. I am not in touch with any cousins, so I marvel at the tight bond between all these children--and pray it holds as they grow.
Someone asked Jacob the other night if he was an only child, and he said, "I have cousins."
It's one of those times when I feel my cup runneth over and all the things that worry me about our world are temporarily banished from my mind.

The Value of a Dog—Lesson #2

Some of you know this story. Please bear with me, because others don’t, and because I have  a point to make here about dogs and their importance in our lives.

Sophie woke me a little before 2:30 Wednsday morning. I can lie in bed and tell by her bark how serious the “threat” to our safety is. This was serious, a frantic bark. And it kept on. Then I saw tail-lights in the driveway, and the motion detector light activated. I thought someone was going around to the back, so I pulled on some clothes and looked. Nobody. I looked for those tail-lights again and realized that they were emergency vehicles—aha! The police had once again caught someone at the corner by my house. It certainly had nothing to do with me, so I went to the bathroom, got a drink of water—with Sophie still barking. Then it all happened at once—the phone rang and someone pounded on the door. I looked through my glass door and saw several men on my porch and one had a bag that looked like an EMT bag.

Grabbed Sophie and opened the door to a kind man who said, “We had a medical alert call for this address.” I assured him I was all right, said I do wear an alert bracelet but hadn’t set it off, hadn’t heard it go off. He asked several times if I was sure I was all right, and I said I was. He was neither impatient nor angry, just kind. As the men left, my neighbor wandered up and said “You okay?” Yes, I was.

I looked and realized other neighbors were out there. I thanked and reassured them, but then the house security system started going off and the phone rang—I had to run to assure the security people they should NOT call the police. Somewhere in all this my son-in-law from Austin called and asked if I was okay. I could hear him reassuring Megan, my daughter. Then he said Jordan, my younger daughter, was on her way, so I called and told her I was fine, to go back home. She said she was so close she’d come ahead. With all the confusion and newly awakened from a deep sleep, it was not my finest hour—not sure I was even coherent.

I called the medical alert company and they did have an alarm. They guess I rolled over on the bracelet. I asked if I should take it off and they said no. They advise sleeping with it on. The problem, of course, was that I didn’t hear the phone when people called to verify the alert—no hearing aids and sound asleep.

 

Today I have thanked and apologized to everyone (including a Facebook expression of thanks to first responders), and I’ve learned some lessons. The ringer on the phone by my bed is now on, and I’ve found out how effective my security systems are, but the big thing is I will really pay attention to Sophie’s barking. She’s an alert watch dog (now sound asleep in the comfy chair across from my desk).

The good news: I wrote nearly a thousand words on the opening of a new novel that morning. Yes, it’s about an unexpected first responder visit in the night. My mom used to say all things work to some good.