(Edited to add: forgot to mention that our Manteo house closed without any complications on Wednesday.
If Steve wasn’t on a walker, we would have danced a jig. So, so thankful.)
The Formerly Floridian Smiths have arrived!
This was taken at Meagan’s parent’s house just as they were leaving.
Unfortunately, their main moving truck has been delayed by at least a week, even though the company had plenty of notice about the move date. So most of the Smith belongings are still lolling about in storage somewhere while the family stayed with us for a few days.
Yesterday they finally decided that moving truck or no moving truck, they were going to spend the night in their house–sleeping on the floor, with no table or chairs, and worst of all, no coffee pot! Here’s hoping the truck will arrive soon.
We helped Nathan and Meagan get their smaller truck unloaded so that was something, at least. (The man helping Gage is Meagan’s uncle; he and Meagan’s aunt happen to live just two streets over from their new home.)
Grayson was right there to help when Grandma needed assistance.
One of the nights they were staying with us, Madison helped get the blow-up mattress prepared and locate all the pjs and special blankets. Her final touch was to post messages on the bedroom doors for everyone. Although Grayson and Andrew were, of course, too young to read their notes, I loved her heart in writing them.
She is compassionate and caring and checks on Steve several times a day asking, “Are you doing okay, Grandpa?”
Steve and Noah have already logged a couple of hours of deep and intense conversations about airplanes. Noah is quite a thinker and asks many questions, coming at the subject from all different angles. And of course, Steve is only too happy to share his knowledge. I can see them having many airplane moments together. (In this photo, they are watching an airplane video together.)
Breakfast time looked a little different last week with numerous small humans peopling our chairs. I’ve been trying to feed the kids each morning so that Nathan and Meagan could grab a couple of extra moments of sleep. My hat is off to parents of young children; they are my heroes!
is this sweet and lovely creature, Carly.
Carly has stayed on high alert for threats to the Smith domicile including butterflies, squirrels, and floating flower petals. I don’t know how we’ve stayed safe this long without her.
The only challenge with this lovely lady is that when you look up the word “fast” in the dictionary, you’ll find her picture beside it. A couple of times over the last week, a door would briefly open and Carly would be gone. Just gone.
It was always up to the Floridian Smiths to recover her and that was just fine and dandy with me. Chasing canines down the street is not on my Bucket List.
Last Wednesday, Nathan and the family went to their new house for a few hours to do some work and I volunteered to keep Carly here. I was certain that she would never have the chance to escape with my stern eye on her. Just a few short minutes after having that thought, UPS left a package on the front step and when I unthinkingly opened the door to collect the package, Carly seized the moment to escape. She is all about Canine Carpe Diem-ing.
Well. My life flashed before my eyes. Steve was incapacitated, the family was gone, and I had a wild dog running loose in a serene neighborhood. Not even thinking about grabbing a leash or shoes I took off behind her. She was going thirty m.p.h. and I was going Grandma m.p.h.
I am not even going to try and express all the layers of stress involved in the next few minutes; however, I will mention that she found great joy in traumatizing some chickens in a pen in a neighbor’s yard.
She zoomed round and round the pen, barking delightedly while the chickens set up a great clucking and a clatter, running into each other in their haste to get away from the fearsome black beast. I was running around the hen pen too, waving my arms and screeching Carly’s name like some deranged person.
Every time I got near her to take a lunge for her collar, she’d perform–in the space of a millisecond–a 180-degree turn and chase the flustered, clustered chickens in the other direction. Her doggie brain was obviously highly amused by the chicken chaos she was creating.
As I hurled my 61-year-old self around the neighbor’s yard, it suddenly occurred to me that I had no leash with me so even if I did miraculously catch the dog, I was going to have to walk her home halfway bent over pulling her by the collar. And that means that my hindermost parts would stick out even more than they are already wont to do. Not a good thought.
Carly eventually tired of the chicken-chasing caper and sprinted off across the adjoining street. There were dozens more streets to be explored and I was feeling a great dearth of confidence in ever catching her–in addition to an even greater dearth of available air in my lungs to continue the journey.
The house across the street happened to be owned by a young couple who are (oh joy!) friends of Sarah and Gage. And (even more joy!) the husband, Colin, just happened to be outside playing basketball.
I felt stirrings of hope and as I got nearer I started screeching, “Hello, hello! It’s Becky from down the street. Hello, HELLO!!”
Colin finally turned from the basketball hoop to take in the full scope of my wild-eyed, thundering self. When I was sure I had his full attention I gasped, “The dog! The dog is loose! Catch the dog! Please!”
Miracle of miracles (and I mean those words literally), instead of taking off for parts unknown, Carly actually pranced right up to him–after having a brief “conversation” with the guy’s much larger dog. Colin grabbed Carly, produced a spare leash for me, and just like that, Carly’s Canine Caper was over. I thanked him profusely, grabbed the leash, and embarked on my walk of shame back down our street, leading the ecstatic Carly who was emitting great waves of joy and satisfaction at the memory of her fabulous foray into the neighborhood.
On Thursday, Nathan and the family left for the beach to attend a wedding. We told them we would dogsit and this time I promised myself that this dog would not get out of the house on my watch. No, sirree. I had my stern mama eye on her and I told her in no uncertain terms that she was going to stay Inside. This. House. She listened to my speech with a modicum of interest.
The six Smiths finished packing, disappeared out the door, and started loading themselves into the van. Carly was safely in the house with both the kitchen and front doors firmly closed, locked, barricaded, and booby-trapped.
All was well. The dog was going to stay inside. Everything was going to be absolutely fine.
After everyone was out the door, I walked to the back of the house. I hadn’t been there longer than ninety seconds when I heard a knock on the kitchen door. As I made my way back to the kitchen, I was assuming one of the kids had forgotten something.
But there, standing outside the kitchen door, was Meagan. And Meagan was holding Carly.
Yes. Carly.
And Carly was looking just slightly smug and a tad triumphant.
My jaw dropped and all I could manage to say was, “Whaaa . . . ?”
As it turns out, the kids had left the basement garage door open and I hadn’t checked the door leading down the steps to the garage. It took the brilliant Carly Houdini Smith a mere 2.5 seconds to analyze the situation, race down the steps, go out through the garage, run up the driveway, and arrive at the family van–just as it was about to pull out of the driveway. (I am forever thankful she made her escape while the family was still here; my nerves couldn’t have stood another chase through the neighborhood.)
Carly really is the sweetest dog and a joy to have in the house . Outside? Not much!
On moving day last Mondy, Meagan, her sister, and the kids arrived about three hours before Nathan. He was driving the moving van and pulling a car hauler and had run into a couple of setbacks along the way.
When he finally arrived at about 9 p.m. he drove past the house intending to turn around in the cul-de-sac at the end of our street. As it turns out, the cul-de-sac was too small for a Penske and a car trailer and he got wedged in there.
Now you have to remember. He had been on the road all alone since early that morning, driving a noisy, bouncy truck the entire day. He had finally arrived at his destination in the pitch dark and beyond exhausted–only to find himself stuck.
Now Steve has been backing trailers and RVs for many decades and I could see that every fiber of his being yearned to go running down the street to help his son find a solution.
Only problem? Running is not currently on Steve’s menu of options. Nor is hopping in a truck and doing any sort of maneuvering. So he slowly trudged his way back into the den on his walker, sidelined from doing what every dad wants to do–help his son.
Instead, Meagan ran down the street to confer with Nathan. They both agreed that backing a moving truck and car trailer down a completely dark street was an option–but not a great one.
Now you have to know something about Meagan. Back in the days when she and her sisters were teens, they lived full-time in an RV. Meagan was always the sister who helped her dad with the outside tasks: setting up/tearing down, backing into parking spots, etc. She is no stranger to the task.
She and Nathan talked briefly and came up with the plan of backing the trailer into the neighbor’s driveway and little by little, going forward and back and turning it so that the nose was eventually pointing forward. Of course, moving trucks have an annoying loud beep when backing so that added to the end-of-the-day stress. Thankfully, we have a patient neighbor.
After just about ten minutes with the two of them working as a team, Nathan finessed the trailer around and pulled it up in front of our house. When he walked into the house, we all gave him a huge round of applause.
Yes, Steve would have loved more than anything to have gone out and helped his son; however, the generation coming up behind us figured it out perfectly well on their own. I was so proud of both Nathan and Meagan for rising to the task and figuring out their own effective solution.
Sarah was born in Duluth, MN almost 28 years ago. (Click here for background on why we were on the road full-time.) Since she and I weren’t up to a 1200-mile road trip back to Charlotte after the complications I’d had, we flew back here to Charlotte when she was a week old. Steve’s task was to drive our 54-foot RV rig back to Charlotte, accompanied by 6-year-old Nathan.
He and Nathan were due to arrive on Saturday but late Friday night, as I was sitting in Ken and Vernie’s den with Sarah in my arms, I heard a rattling at the door. I looked up to see Steve come into the room, trailed by precious Nathan. They were both grinning from ear to ear because they had surprised us by getting home early. Nathan was so proud of himself that he had been able to “help” his dad on the long journey back to his mom and sweet baby sister.
That’s where my mind flashed back to when Nathan was in that cul-de-sac, maneuvering a rig of his own. His faithful, resourceful wife was at his side and their four kids were tucked safely into their beds–sleeping soundly in the very house he had come back to after that long road trip with his dad.
The generations have changed places. The house has changed hands.
But the love in these walls is now and forevermore the same.
What about you? Have you ever had an escaping pet? Any stories to share?
What is the weather like where you are? My sisters in Wisconsin had temps in the 80s last week and today have had 18 inches of snow!
My favorite photo in this edition was your granddaughter asking Steve if he was okay. It literally brought tears to my eyes to see her taking on the role of “caretaker” for Steve. Grandchildren are such a special blessing in our senior years.
Fred and Lucy,
Madi has a very tender heart; she is definitely a natural caretaker. She was very excited to see Steve transition from walker to cane and then see him take a few steps without the cane. She gave me a huge smile when she saw him do that.
I have been to Duluth MN a few times with friends when we go on vacation. Some very cute shops there and Yvonne makes sure we hit every one! We stay about a half hour north in a cottage that is right on the lake. Since I haven’t been able to collect shells since I moved I have started collecting rocks. I find it just as as exciting as collecting shells.
The way you told the Carly story literally made me laugh out loud! You really paint quite a picture with your words! 😂
What a treasure to have those sweet little Smiths all in your home. Such wonderful memories are being made for everyone!
No escaping pet stories here because we don’t have any pets. Our weather is being crazy! Hot last week. We actually tied a record high of 89 for that day. Chilly this week and we’re expecting frost Friday night. Good grief. I’m glad I don’t have any flowers planted yet! It is definitely spring time in Nebraska!🙂
LeeAnne,
Glad to hear the story made you laugh; I was hoping it would make people smile. 🙂
Eighty-nine degrees down to frosty temps? How do you even know how to get dressed each day? Wow!
I don’t have any escaping pet stories of my own but my neighbor was recently dog sitting her son and daughter-in-law’s tiny dog – like maybe 4 pounds. Somehow Luna slipped out of her harness. My neighbor and her husband are both 69 and her husband has Parkinson’s. She said she thought she was going to have a heart attack before she caught Luna. Fortunately some drivers stopped to help catch her.
I know you are so glad to have closed on the Manteo house. It is so hard to sell a house in one city once you have moved to another one. I’ve done that a few times myself.
Hopefully Nathan and Meagan’s main moving van gets there soon. I know you have to be thrilled to have them so close to you now.
Phyllis,
That would be a REALLY bad feeling to lose a tiny little dog that didn’t even belong to you. Glad your neighbor’s story ended up well!
The company said their truck should get there Monday or Tuesday. It’s been a long wait!
So glad they have finally arrived, even if it without the stuff quite yet. What a blessing to have them close by, although I know they are greatly missed by their Florida family.
I still have a houdini dog. Every single time that front door is opened, it is a fight to keep him in. When he gets out, he runs the neighborhood like he has been set free! The longest it took to wear him down was a little over an hour and a half! Now that he is older…6 1/2…he wears out faster and is easier to catch. 🙂
Proud of Nathan for figuring it out. I cannot back up a trailer. I have managed to get completely sideways trying to maneuver a trailer!
Janet,
Ninety minutes is a long time to wait on your Houdini Dog. It is unreal how fast and agile they are when they get outdoors. Which makes it all the crazier that we humans go running after them like we’re actually going to catch them. 🙂 I’m glad that he’s slowing down a little for you.
I have tried backing a trailer before, too, and it was NOT pretty. We were definitely proud of Nathan and Meagan for figuring it out–in the dark!
So glad that all turned out ok in the end and the Smith’s are all in Charlotte.
I have had an escaping pet snake. It was just a garter snake and I kept it at the school where I taught. It escaped twice at the school and was thankfully found before any kids arrived. After the second time, I decided to give it to a friend who worked at a school camp in the mountains. Said snake escaped a couple times there as well and earned the new name of Houdini. After it’s last escape it was never seen again.
We also had some days in the 80’s and enjoyed a nice bike ride Sat. evening. Today it was snowing all day and is expected to last thru the night. However, it really isn’t sticking so no 18″ here.
Prayers as the younger Smiths move in and have an easy time of settling in.
Patti,
The very thought of having an escaped snake somewhere in my vicinity is NOT a happy thought! Your line, “After its last escape, it was never seen again,” made me smile. Looks like Houdini Snake showed his people a thing or two! 🙂
Glad you got to enjoy the early spring while it lasted. Nice to know that it will return–eventually.
When my husband and I first got married, we adopted an adorable puppy from a shelter, she was perfect as she grew up except for running away, I can’t even tell you how many times she got out and we were running through the neighborhood trying to find her or in the woods behind us and we lived in a very tick infested area in NJ at the time so I won’t even go there…..and as far as moving problems, when we moved from NJ to KS we had to put our stuff into storage for a few months until our house was ready, well apparently, only half of our stuff went to the storage unit in KS, the other went somewhere else and when we finally moved in I realized I was missing my whole dining room, the kids bikes, etc., the moving company tracked it down and it was in a storage unit in INDIANA!!! we did end up finally getting everything but it took a while….hope the Smiths are settling in and the kids are making new friends in school.
Dale,
Oh my. Your storage story is incredible. You moved to KS and your stuff moved to Indiana? It’s one thing to move and have missing things as a single person or a couple but when you have children, it’s a whole nother situation. I know you were ever so glad to be reunited with your belongings.
It makes having luggage lost in the airport seem not so bad when you think of losing half a house full of stuff!
After taking the bus to be at the VA hospital for my husband’s surgery and staying there for a few days, I caught the 4 hour bus ride home. Lo and behold I got on the bus and found it was full of strippers bound for a local bar. Talk about an uncomfortable bus trip. To make a bad day worse after arriving at the final destination I got off the bus only to find my parents weren’t there to meet me. Finally after waiting for an hour in the dark, here they came full of apologies. It seems my dog who they were dog sitting for had escaped and they were chasing it all over town. It’s funny now but at the time not so much. So glad you will have family so close. Enjoy!
Mary,
A VA hospital, surgery, a bus, strippers, tardy parents, and a runaway dog.
Sounds like you win the prize for an outstanding escaped animal escapade!
My husband and I are the parents of our doted on daughter, Maddie the cat, occupation: door dasher! Just this last year, she has managed to dart out of the house at night, thru the front door, UNSEEN, TWICE! We didn’t miss her til the next morning when we called her for breakfast and..no Maddie! the first time was in the middle of hot Summer , and she was on the lam for (wait for it!) 41 days! I cried every night!. Long story short, we did get her home and inside the house! yaaaay!!! til she took off again 5 days before Christmas! Same M.O! out the door when we opened it at night, and no Maddie the next morning! I cry all night, this time for 21 days! I figured, first time we got lucky, but this time, we were doomed! Not so, 21 day later Maddie was spotted on the patio, eating food I’d been putting out (which mostly has been eaten by the neighborhood bad boy racoons!) That was in January, and so far Maddie the door dasher has been house bound. Whew!
Jojy,
Oh my. Sounds like Maddie and Carly could be best friends–maybe meet once a week to plan their escapades. 🙂
I can’t imagine having a beloved animal gone for so many days. Twice! I CAN imagine the happy reunions!
So happy that Nathan, Meagan and the grand are there. What a great change for you and Steve!
Phil and I had a puppy named Brownie early on in our marriage. He got out the door and went running and i couldn’t catch him. He was having way too much fun to come to me. I actually called my sister and she came over, and of course Brownie being happy to see her, ran right to her and she scooped him up. Your story brought back that memory.
Prayers that the moving truck shows up soon! What a start for them to have to wait. There is a movie called Funny Farm where that happens. It’s quite funny. Living it though, I’m sure, is not so funny.
Living in WI, we missed the brunt of that snow storm and only got an inch. Saturday we were at the zoo and got sunburned!
Keep enjoying life!!
Carol,
Hooray for JoAnn coming over to lure Brownie back in. Those dogs just have a mind of their own, don’t they?
Glad the water was so nice for your zoo trip. Funny you got an inch and Ruth and Deb got so much. Spring can’t be far away!
I’m chuckling out loud about Carly getting out through the basement. Dogs can be sneaky! She looks young, too – I’m sure she’ll be more calm and sedate as she gets older. 🙂
Oh, the rental truck + trailer for car stories I could also tell. Many involved my dad, who was not the most patient man in the world (understatement). 🙂
Are those azaleas outside your window? Spring looks soooo lovely there!
Stefanie,
I was dumbfounded that Carly figured that out and made her escape within the space of just a few seconds. I mean, really? The dog is smarter than I am!
Yes, I’m sure many of us have stories to tell about rental vehicles; things never quite go the way you think they are going to.
I think those are azaleas outside the window; I don’t know my flowers but azalea seems like a good guess so we’ll go with it. 🙂
Oh goodness, chasing dogs is always so stressful! We (somewhat frequently) forget our dog out in the front yard. He’ll go out to “help” take the trash out, and I’ll head back inside while he’s sniffing a bush. He now sits on the porch waiting for us to remember him, but when he was younger he would roam our neighborhood looking for yummy trash. One evening I realized I didn’t know where he was and thought he must have been forgotten out front. We searched the neighborhood in the dark for over an hour and I was devastated thinking something happened to him. To make a long story short, he had crawled under our deck chasing some little animal, and he managed to get himself stuck under the deck! We ended up having to dismantle part of our deck to get him out. He’s a little rascal, but I love him to bits. Have you thought about getting another dog?
Robin,
What a crazy story that your dog got stuck under the deck and you had to dismantle it. Wow!
Yes, we have talked about another dog; definitely would go with a smaller dog with a top speed of 2 m.p.h. 🙂
Noah and Steve will love visiting the new aviation museum when it opens. I think it is in the process of being built (or maybe even before that in the fundraising portion). We’re probably a couple of years off from that visit but it will be fun when it is finally here!
Courtney,
So exciting to know an aviation museum is coming. Steve and Noah will be first in line.
What a team they are! Thankful the newest North Carolina Smiths are settling in. Love you all!
Sheri,
Yes, Nathan and Meagan are truly amazing with all that they have adjusted to over these past weeks. It was good to see them getting settled into their house a little bit this morning waiting on that elusive big truck to arrive! Love you.