they never listen to their elders...

It was a few Tuesday's past and Sonny, the little Russian Blue kitten had an appointment for Wednesday morning with Dr. Taylor , our beloved Vet. He was going to have a little, well shall we say procedure? We hadn't yet broached the subject with him, I just planned to pick his little highness up and place him in the pet taxi without much ado. Placing the Pet Taxi to the side of the bookshelf, I left it open so that the cats could explore it's innards and figure out that there was nothing inside to hurt them. Pyewackit and Hound being the most recent passengers avoided that open door like the plague. They tried to warn Sonny and Cher, but they're kittens and they don't listen to their elders any more than any other teenager. They romped around inside it, chasing each other in and out of it and all the while the two adults just sat back and watched. They were cringing. I remembered when I had taken Pyewackit for the same procedure sixteen years ago. He talked to me all the way to Hartsville, we sang and laughed and he was Mama's boy and all was fine in his world.

On the trip home the next day, Pye presented me with his back. He did not speak. He did not sing. He was no longer Mama's boy...he was just angry. As I drove I talked to him, promised him shrimp when we got home, promised him it was going to be alright. He turned and hissed at me. He didn't speak to me for two weeks.

Hound, being a little lady, had a different procedure, but a procedure she did have. When we took her in, she was a sweet little baby who, having been raised by us before her eyes were even open, thought we were the biggest cats she had ever seen. She would curl up on my shoulder to sleep and purr like a proper princess. After her little op she changed gradually. She got bigger, not fat, just tall. She became very bossy and demanding. A few weeks ago Sonny got out by accident and spent all night under the porch. The next morning he showed up at the patio doors asking to be allowed back in. I opened the door and he ran to Hound who proceeded to beat him to within an inch of his life. She had not given him permission to stay out all night, and was asserting her authority over him.  She treats us much the same. 

So the next Thursday we went to pick up Sonny  and bring him home. He was so glad to see us, he purred and chattered all the way home. I was reading the post-op instructions about using paper litter etc. etc. I looked over at Mac and told him that I had just thought of something. "What?" he asked. "I hope Hound doesn't jump on him for having another overnighter." He laughed and said that when Hound saw him come out of the pet taxi, she would take pity on him. He was right.

When we got home, his sister Cher was all over him, asking where he had been and that she had been worried about him. She was giving him a good bath and Sonny was enjoying the attention. They were so glad to see each other. Cher pointed to Sonny and asked "what happened there?"  Hound rolled her eyes when Sonny, in mid bath stopped and stared at himself..."dunno, they were there when I left home." Since neither of them particularly cared that a change had indeed been accomplished, I felt good about Cher's little trip in two weeks time. I haven't told her about her appointment yet. It seems to work better when you keep it a secret.

The Wedding

October 28th dawned cool and clear.  We had been anticipating this wedding for months.  The Bride and Groom were so secretive about the details that I hesitated buying my dress till the last minute.  I am so glad that I did.  It seems that the children (tongue in cheek here) had decided to have a Halloween Wedding in Black and White.  The rehearsal party on the 27th was thrown open to all invited guests and turned into a Halloween Costume party.  All of the women in our family came dressed as witches.  Some would say it wasn't a far stretch.  The Groom (our son Wallace) was dressed as Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride (Sara Shiver) as Bride of the Monster.  There was Adam and Eve the Village People, Mitt and Ann Romney, and the Father of the Bride dressed in overalls and plaid shirt with a shotgun open with shells in plain sight lying on a table before
 him.  A lovely Egyptian Queen held court before aliens from Outer Space.  Food was generously served and an open bar insured no one went home thirsty (hey, I left sober, had only diet soda...honest.)
So the wedding day was frantic with hair styling and makeup partying for the ladies of the wedding party.  The gentlemen were being dressed in their tuxes and getting the prewedding jitters under control.  Finally at 5:30 I was allowed to dress, careful not to muss makeup or hair.  Since it was a black and white wedding (old black and white movies from the 20's played on the back wall of the reception room and the wedding cake mimicking an old Harold Lloyd movie) I had chosen a long black dress with a white seeded pearl and rhinestone jacket.  Talk about bling!  The wedding itself was lovely and the music was original.  Somewhere in the proceedings it was announced that the happy couple were having a Quaker wedding.  Hats off to all the guests who refrained from asking out loud in front of God and the chosen assembly which one of them was the Quaker.  The Grooms family looked at each other with looks like "say what???" and the Bride's family had much the same epression.  Taken aback.  I have heard it all my life.  Now I know what it means.

The Bride

The Bride and Groom

Mr and Mrs Wallace McBride

The Halloween Rehearsal Dinner Mother of the Groom, the Groom as Frankensteins Monster, Father of the Groom

Sara the Cake Bride

Rushing to the Wedding (the wedding cake)

 

Wallace the Cake Groom

 

 

After the wedding as we stood in the receiving line the question was on every one's lips and occasionally fell right off into the conversation.  One gentleman on the Bride's side said (and he really acted as if he wanted details of this thing ) "so, you're Quakers then?"  I looked him in the eye and told him that I was a hybrid Catholic/Baptist the father of the groom was a hybrid Methodist/Mormon (mutts we are)and was not really sure where the Quakers came into it.  We agreed it had been a lovely ceremony, what with every guest signing the Marriage Contract, in the Quaker tradition (something of which I had never heard.)  Later, while having the first dance with my son (as Sunrise Sunset played in the background) I asked him about the Quaker ceremony.  He laughed and told  me that they had wanted something different from the norm, hence the black and white wedding, the old movies on the back wall and the lovely Quaker traditional service.  Thanks to the minister and our own John Davis of Chesterfield it all came off without a hitch.  Here's to the Bride and Groom, Mr and Mrs Wallace and Sara McBride...here here!

Here as Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride of the Monster

McBride-Shiver
Sara Jean Shiver and Milton Wallace McBride Jr., were married Sunday, October 28, 2012, at 701 Whaley. The 6 p.m. ceremony was officiated by Rev. Robyn Garrison McMullen and John Davis. The reception immediately followed at the same location.
The bride is the daughter of Roy and Gerry Shiver of Columbia, S.C. She is the granddaughter of the late Joseph and Eugenia Doman of Pittsburgh, Pa. and the late William and Vera Shiver of Camilla, Ga. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga. with a BA degree in History and received her Masters Degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Carolina. She is a Periodicals Librarian at the Richland County Public Library.
The Groom is the son of Milton and Sandra McBride of Jefferson, S.C. He is the grandson of the late Lewey and Evelyn McBride of Selma, AL and Michael A. Valverde, MD and the late Grace Valverde of Ruby, S.C. He graduated from Lander University and is a writer with the Fort Jackson Leader.
Judith Barnes and Dorothy Copeland, friends of the Bride, were matrons of honor. Bridesmaids were Rachel Thomason and Abigail Thames, friends of the bride, and Ashley Shiver, niece of the bride. Wade Shiver, cousin of the bride, also stood for the bride.
Mark Wood, friend of the groom, was best man. Groomsmen were Milton W. McBride Sr., father of the groom and John Davis, friend of the groom. The ushers were Jonathan Shiver and Jacob Shiver, nephews of the bride.
After a honeymoon in Eastern Europe, the couple will reside in Columbia, S.C.