I'm a waterfall

I've been getting ready for the move and making sure my little Chickles is going to be happy and cozy here on the beach. Today was her day in the spa!

I brought her to the groomers where she got a mani/pedi and a pretty haircut. The vet gave a her a clean bill of health, a prescription for her super dog food and a preventative medicine that will keep the fleas away AND it will remain potent even if she decides to jump in the ocean water. YAY! She can catch waves in the Gulf while I'm catching waves in the Pacific! My toes and her paws will be joined in the water no matter where we are!

As my mom and I paid for the bill, I realized she needed a new dog tag with her new address on it. Thisby and I walked up to the machine and I began to type her name, the new city and state on a shiney blue tag shaped like a bone. I put both my mom and my brother's cel phone numbers on it in the unlikely event she's found by strangers (God forbid!). I asked Mom, "Should I put her email address on here too?"

"No," she said seeming bothered. I guess this wasn't the right time to ask Mom if she's seen Thisby's myspace page. I was done, so I clicked print.

As the machine engraved the new tag, my little girl just stared at me with her big brown eyes. I thought she looked so cute with her new du and the pink bandana, yet she remained stoic and she didn't even budge as she stared at me from the floor.

I think I now know why she's been sitting on my feet while I've been reading at my desk. In the mornings, she's been walking close to me even without her leash on and her fur keeps tickling my shins. While we were waiting for the vet, she slowly crawled into my lap and burried her face in my armpit. She's even been sleeping in my dirty laundry rather than her own bed the last few nights too. When I wake up, I'd been tripping over her toys that she's been leaving at my bedroom door.

Thisbers and I paced the aisles of Petsmart with long faces as the name tag finished engraving. I wish I didn't have to buy that tag. My mom patiently waited for us at the door with the blue tag in her hand. I looked at it and seemed a little empty without my name on it. We all got into my Civic and drove home.

When we arrived at the condo, mom cleared out the kitchen table to make room for her sewing machine. I thought she was going to work on Joey's fourteen black capes for him and his friends. On Saturday, Joey will have a Star Wars birthday party and Darth Vader is going to make a guest appearance. I remembered that I was going to set up a corner with my computer and speakers. I needed to download the Yoda widget and test it out first as well as get a few of the theme songs off iTunes.

Yoda is going to wish Joey a happy birthday. And when Darth Vader arrives, the Imperial March song is going to make this beach house shake. I'm searching for the sound bite to play when the kids are practicing their light saber technique. Not sure yet how I'm going to operate my computer, make Yoda speak and take action shots with my camera while I'm throwing asteroids at everybody.

As I was doing that, my mom says, "Look Rose, I repaired Thisby's bed!" She certainly did. Earlier, the washing machine tore a few weak seams in the cushions of Chicklette's bed. My mom repaired that first before working on Darth Vader's and the thirteen young Jedi capes.

I know when I see my brother tomorrow the first thing he'll ask before saying hello will be, "Where's my dog?!?!!!"

"You'll get her on Tuesday bro." That's when I'll start my journey West as Thisby becomes someone else's dog.

I'm gonna miss tripping over her toys in the morning.

My mom just finished all the capes now too. I had to dry my tears for a bit so we ran up and down the hallway to test the flowing motion of the capes. They work! The up collars filled with foam are a great touch too.

My dad was wondering what kind of ruckus was going on, he hollered from his room in a sing song voice, "Ceila....Ceila Ceila!" He sings that song at 6 o'clock in the morning sometimes too. I don't really know why.

"Try this on Rose." Mom just made me a skirt. "I had a little extra fabric left over so I made this for you too."

Thisby is already asleep in the living room on her repaired bed. Mom is on a roll making a skirt for my sister in California that I'm going to deliver. I guess I'm free to go.