Nidicolous Exodus

If we tell you that at 6:30 this morning we were googling "cat sh*t in sink," we don't really need to explain any more than that, do we? We wouldn't bring it up at all, really, except that our little foray into "inappropriate elimination" -- as it is referred to by cat care experts on the internet who clearly did not just wake up to a sinkful of poop -- led us to conclude that this was as good a day as any to let the kittens explore the great outdoors. They were hesitant when we first opened up the french doors, but soon Charlie led the way:


The other one followed a few minutes later (her name still hasn't stabilized, but "Nikki," "Birdy," and "Thing Two" are all in the running). The two of them spent the better part of an hour skulking around on the porch, peering nervously out through the bars, and sprinting back inside when confronted by unfamiliar phenomena such as airplanes overhead, the whine of a buzz saw from across the street, dry leaves scuttling across the flagstones, and spiders.


Eventually they made it all the way out into the yard, where they bravely stood their ground against one of the dominant neighborhood cats (or were deemed too puny to bother with -- but don't tell them that) and shrewdly avoided the small children who sought to haul them up to the treehouse in the basket. We're hoping they also found someplace more appropriate to poop. All in all, a successful feline fledging.

Which brings us to the topic of Josie's first solo flight -- to Oakland, to visit Lexi & Jenny, on Friday afternoon. The departure was a little hectic, unfortunately. Our traveler had been away on a school camping trip all week, so we had to pick her and her grubby duffel bag up from school at 3, rush home for a quick shower, repack for an urban adventure, and be at the airport by 4. All this with Simon in tow, moping because he hadn't been allowed to go on the camping trip with her, and wasn't going to be allowed to accompany her to Oakland, and pretty much never gets to do anything fun at all.

Miraculously, we made it.


It wasn't until we had filled out the forms to get a special pass to accompany Josie to the gate, made our way through the security line, purchased airplane reading and a last-minute snack, been greeted at the gate by an overly jolly airline employee, and settled in to wait for the boarding call that Mikala started having flashbacks to her youth, much of which was spent shuttling unaccompanied between LA and Boston for summer & Christmas vacations, starting at the age of five.

There wasn't much time to ponder those memories, or how surreal it was to suddenly find oneself on the parental side of the equation, before our jolly friend had summoned "our minor" up to the front of the line to board the plane in the sort of booming, cloying voice a game show host might use to announce that the dark horse contestant had won the red Ferrari. In deference to Josie, who can be sent into nearly fatal paraoxyisms of mortification by a peck on the cheek in a bustling school hallway, we kept our farewell brief and unsentimental. "Have fun," we said, giving her arm a little squeeze. And off she went down the gangway.

Mikala and Simon had to remain at the gate until the plane was in the air. This gave Mikala enough time to have a few more flashbacks, and to regret that she hadn't tucked a love note into the snack bag, at least. So she wrote one, thinking the jolly game show host guy might be willing to deliver it to Josie in her seat before the plane left the gate. Simon looked it over and said "Well, you can send it, but she's just going to say 'Stinker Mom!' when she sees it." Mikala thought this was possible, but decided to risk it.

Later that night when Josie called to confirm that she'd arrived safe & sound, she also confirmed her brother's solid understanding of her psyche: "Stinker Mom!" was precisely what she'd said when she got the note. "It's okay to say 'I love you,'" she went on,"it's the 'madly' part that makes me grrrful." What could we possibly say to that, besides this:

"But Pookie-Pie Pumpkin-Bubble Snoofiekins, we do love you madly!"