There and Back

After her first extended stay in California, the Mrs. had to return there to provide some additional assistance to her ill father. This time around she's been gone almost two weeks, which means she missed both our godson's fourth birthday party and Thanksgiving.

Normally we take the dog with us when we visit my family in Rhode Island. She (the dog) enjoys the freedom of being able to run around in my mother's large, enclosed back yard, and she gets along pretty well with her oddball beagle, who tends to behave more sociably when his doggie cousin is there. Missing a holiday dinner isn't such a terrible thing, but without the Mrs. to drive, it left me in a tricky position. Being unable to drive myself, I had to either find someone to take care of the dog for 36 hours or so (not easy when most people are away visiting their own families), get someone to drive me and the dog to RI, or not go at all.

I thought one of my siblings would step up and offer to come get us, but they, like me, are native Rhode Islanders. There is a strange phobia about driving long distances common to those indigenous to the state, and yes, such a person would consider 50 miles each way a long distance. I cannot explain the reasons for this phenomenon, but it definitely exists. It's documented in a book I have at home (and thus don't have access to at this moment) called The Rhode Island Handbook, a humorous collection of local quirks written by Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin.

At any rate, I wasn't going to get any help from them. I even played the dog card: "With her mom gone, I think it would be really good for her to be around people besides me who will give her some attention and love, and for her to have the chance to run around free in the yard." Nothing. Some half-hearted excuses were made about the cost of gas, which I offered to cover, but for whatever reason it didn't compute. I considered telling them I wasn't coming because I was annoyed at their unwillingness to help me out, but I decided that since holidays are supposed to be enjoyable occasions, creating more stress and angst wouldn't be productive.

I explained all this to the Mrs., who got in touch with a friend and colleague, who had in the past expressed a willingness to dogsit and who, it turned out, was not going out of town for the holiday. When the Mrs. offered Jenna the use of her car, sitting idle in our driveway, as an added reward for helping out, Jenna said as long as she could use the car (her own is old and not highway-worthy), she would be willing to drive me and the dog to my family's house, and come back and pick us up the next day.

So Jenna came to our rescue, for which I'm very grateful, and the dog and I had a very nice Thanksgiving. She even got a little turkey mixed in with her food. The Mrs. will be coming home in a few more days, and hopefully everything will be back to normal for Christmas.