Substitution...

Good Morning,

Today, the role of Mike will be played by his wife, Carrie. And now, back to our regularly scheduled program.........


Good Morning Vietnam!!!!  No, wait, sorry. That intro is already taken. How about this... Morning, yah'll! This is Carrie and I'm reporting to you live from a very empty house. My husband and both of his brothers are with a group down in Harrisonburg that's celebrating Matt's soon to be nuptials. That's right, a bachelor party! Now don't get any ideas, all they're doing is rock climbing so the only thing I have to worry about is my husband coming home in one piece.

...

Sorry was just listening to the lack of noise...strange. See, this house, is never quiet. Even when we're sleeping, NEVER quiet. Let's go down the list of family members, shall we? You have Mike, Myself, Shane, Brogan, Max and Min. Regardless of the situation, something is always going on this house. But last night and this morning, it's been the emptiest it's ever been.

Yesterday before Mike left for the gathering, Nanna agreed to watch Shane for the night and then today until I bring him home from work. In a twist of both fortunate and unfortunate (for him) fate, Brogan is undergoing the knife and will be neutered as of some time this morning/early afternoon. So, as of 8PM yesterday, that left me and the two kitties. Now, unless you really don't know much about cats, they are very self sufficient and can disappear for hours at a time. Well... except for when I was trying (note the keyword there..."trying") to sleep, they were no where to be found.

So where did that leave me? On the couch. By myself. Watching the Olympics. I thought in some way it would have been nice having the house all to myself, but it just felt so empty, which in turn made me feel just as empty. I missed my family. So what did I do? What any normal woman would! I had some ice cream and waited for word from my hubby that he arrived safely. 10PM rolls around and I get a text saying he made it. I give him a call and wish him a good night and a fun day tomorrow. Phone hangs up. Empty feeling again....

Need more ice cream!

Thankfully my forms of ice cream are Healthy Choice ice cream bars, so they taste like a blend of chocolate and saddle soap and don't have a great amount of calories, but still.... they do the trick.

10:30, 11:00, 11:30....can't sleep. But I need to try with work in the morning. So I turn off the TV, go upstairs and try my best to lay down and get some shuteye. It took a while but I was finally feeling like I was drifting. Thank you, sleep... You are so kind and...  ::SCRATCH!!!!!!!::

"Son of a.... Min...." Our cat Min has picked up a BAD habit. When we go to bed, she decides to express herself by ripping up our carpet. She's already succeeded with a corner near the door to our room..

"Min!!! Quit!" Silence.... try to go back to..... ::SCRATCH!!!!!::

"Grrrr......" I get up out of my very pleasent and cozy coccoon that I made from our blankets and open the bedroom door. Min bolts in, ever so happy that her human didn't forget about her and then jumps on the bed. I wrap myself up and try to go back to sleep, giving her a little rub on the head before passing out.

1AM..... ::SCRATCH!!!::

"You have got to be kidding me..." Groggily I wake up to the sound of a ticked off cat trying to release some of her angst. And the cycle repeats... find the cat, give her a pat, bring her to the bed.

2AM..... ::SCRATCH!!!::

4AM..... ::SCRATCH!!!::

5AM..... ::SCRATCH!!!::

I'm seriously doubting if I was even supposed to sleep at all tonight.

7AM... I'm laying across our bed... pillows and sheets everywhere... death glazed over me. The constant thought of "I just want to sleep..." playing through my mind. But alas... work beckons. And all you good little boys and girls know that Work = Being able to pay the bills!

So with that said, that is the end of my story. Mike is supposed to be returning home tonight at some time, and i'll be picking up Shane later this afternoon. It'll be wonderful to have my family back. You never truly know how much something or someone means to you until they're gone. And boy howdy, do I miss my family!

End scene!