Family time

Sunday was my aunt's birthday. To celebrate, we bought a cake, loaded up all the electronics Mark owns to keep him busy on the long drive, and headed to the desert.

"What are we gonna do when we get there?" Mark asked.

"We're going to visit," I told him. "That's what families do to celebrate special days."

He groaned loudly. To him, "visit" means the adults sit around and gab. He wasn't any happier when I informed him the Gameboy and iPod were for the car only; I was confiscating them as soon as we arrived. Even the promise of other kids to play with didn't make him smile.

"Don't worry," I told him. "Some day you'll have your own kids to torture with family days."

My mom was staying with my aunt, so she was already there when we arrived. My cousin Kathleen and her boyfriend Tim arrived shortly after us. In no time, the women were off again, headed toward the outlet mall while Tim and Mark stayed back. I couldn't help giggling at the irony.

"I spent the whole drive telling Mark how important it is to spend time with your family," I explained to my mom, aunt and cousin. "And then I ditched him 10 minutes after I got there!"

We returned for lunch, and the arrival of more cousins and my uncle. We enjoyed lunch and cake, and decided to go for a walk afterwards.

My aunt lives in a retirement community, on a golf course. This is important to note for two reasons: 1. The main source of transportation around the neighborhood is golf carts. 2. The seniors don't like to walk, even if (especially if!) they own dogs.

I found this out firsthand as one of the neighbors zipped around the corner at a very fast clip. When she turned back around, I noticed a long leash out the cart, tied to a Scottie running as fast as it could to keep up.




The neighbor passed by, and inquired about my aunt's health.

"She feeling better yet?" she called to my mom.

"Much!" my mom answered.

"She drinking yet?" the neighbor asked. Apparently, this is how they gauge one's health in my aunt's neighborhood.

"Not yet," my mom answered, "but she is eating chocolate!" That garnered a thumbs-up as the neighbor drove off.

We set out on our walk, and once again crossed paths with the Scottie and his owner chatting with another neighbor. The Scottie was now resting on the golf cart seat, but jumped down to greet us.



I couldn't stop giggling about the dog and the golf cart.

"That's how everyone walks their dog around here," my aunt told me.

"Yeah, we're lazy!" laughed the Scottie's owner in the cart.

We walked on back to my aunt's home, to enjoy what was left of the afternoon. We chatted with my uncle, and cousins, and teased the kids. It was a really fun day.



And of course, the best part about it is that the next time Mark asks for a puppy, I'll have a good reason why we can't get one -- we don't have a golf cart, so how ever would we walk it? ;-)