Hmmm...where shall I begin? Lately, the day seems as though it's already over just minutes after it's begun. I can hardly keep up with all the activities and events that have occurred, and everyday has a way of melding right into the next. It's a bit discombobulating (SAT word).
Adam and I left last Thursday for an extended weekend trip to Chicago, our little New York City away from New York City. He had the annual American Bar Association meeting to attend; Bryony and I had the Shedd aquarium to attend. Additionally, two of his best friends from NYC flew in to meet up with us, which was nice since Adam doesn't get to see them very often.
I guess the most important part of this story, which I almost failed to mention, is that we decided to take the entire family with us to Chicago--Bryony (of course), Kika (of course)...and Gregory House. We'd never travelled a longish distance with a cat before, so I had a wee bit of trepidation about taking him along. However, Adam decided it was best for him to accompany the family, especially since we had paid extra money to allow pets in the hotel room, so...
...so, the cat howled and bit and scratched until I finally let him out of his carrier. He wouldn't settle on my lap, and I had to several times grab him before he walked right over the baby in her car seat. Greg House jumped into the back window, until he decided it was no longer interesting, then jumped onto the front passenger seat next to Kika (I was sitting in the back with the baby). A few times he curled up in Adam's lap, with me cringing at the thought of him distracting Adam's driving just enough to plow us head-on into a semi. I was ready to throw the cat out the window.
The hotelroom was nice, although we stayed about 25-30 minutes west of the city to save considerable coin. Normally I would not have minded, but since we had two furry kids to worry about, we made the drive back to the room with fear for what we might find. We had outfitted Kika with her doggy diaper, so while she did mess herself, none of it ruined hotel property. I just gave her a nice scrub down and all was well. Adam had brought Greg House's litter box so we assumed things were kosher on his end as well...(insert smug laughter).
Saturday evening we came back to the room to find that someone (Greg!) had crapped all over the white hotel linens on the bed. Like seriously crapped. It was nasty. Kika does not have the ability to jump on a low-lying couch anymore, let alone a tall pillowtop hotel mattress, so we knew Greg had to be the guilty party. We discovered later that actually he was ill and was also throwing up every few hours. Adam stripped the bed, got new linens, and we kept kitty away from the bed, the baby, and anything else that we didn't want stained with cat vomit or semi-solid poo.
Sunday, before leaving Chicago, we met up with one of Adam's army friends who lives in the area. He knew we were travelling with pets, so he purposely chose a restaurant with outdoor seating that is pet friendly. We put Kika and Greg on their respective leashes and had lunch. You wouldn't believe the amount of attention a cat on a leash will get. No one cared about my precious newborn baby; they all flocked over to see the sweet, well-behaved cat on the leash. Well-behaved my a--! House was totally eating it up, too. One little girl pretty much divorced her family, she was so willing to leave them to play with our cat. Had it been my choice, she could have taken him with her. I'm sure he'd really love living in Chicago...it's like Lansing, just bigger and on the other side of the lake. Who wouldn't like that?
On the way home, Greg, during one of his various romps around the car, stepped on top of the shade to Bryony's car seat, almost collapsing the shade on top of her head. I freaked out and threw the cat into the front seat, cursing and swearing and sputtering in the meantime. I almost punted him out the window.
Now we're back home and life is resuming the normal tempo we've come to rely on the last few months. Greg House has already vomited 3 times since we walked through the door last night. Oh yeah, and the muffler went out on my car right before we started the drive home. Sick, annoying cat in very loud car through extensive road construction that makes your joyride more than an hour longer...you do the math.
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