The School Of Hardknocks

Mom: Oops.
Me: What?
Mom: Inky just bonked her head on the wall.
Me: Aww poor baby! Is that what you said to us when we were growing up? ooops?
Mom: Yes, oops, pick yourself up.
Me: oops??

My mom's new cats love the balcony, so much so that she left the slding glass door open enough for them to go out and sun themselves. She came home from work and one cat was missing, Dinky. And Inky was crying for her brother. He had jumped down, apparently not realizing there was no way back up. Mom IM's me, and told me the whole thing, she looked for him but couldn't find him. If that were me, I'd be freaking out, so I offer to come over and help her look even though it was 10 at night. She said no if he was still gone by morning then we would look more. So I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning, there was an IM waiting for me that said Dinky hadn't returned could I please call the shelter to see if he had been turned in, she had to go to work. Screw that, I look up the number ,call it they don't open till 11, so I throw clothes on grab the cell and head over. After I let myself in Inky greets me and she is not too upset, weird. I start to search first in the front, but there is a guy pressure cleaning so I'm sure Dinky is far from that noise, I loop through to the back and start calling Dinky! Dinky! I'm trying to be kinda quiet because really who wants someone roaming by their window saying dinky? I'm lucky an old man didn't pop up and say you called me? I stop every few minutes to listen, I get down the building enough to be under my mom's other balcony, the one that is screened and I hear a mew. Tiny, scared mew. Did I really hear it or was it Inky upstairs calling to me? Dinky? rustle. mew. Where is he? mew, okay big patch of staghorn fern looking bush. Dinky? Dinky? Dinky? I start parting the leaves and looking..Dinky? Dinky? rustle. mew. He's in there! I just have to find him now, I dig deeper into the plant and there he is, cowered down and scared to death. I pick the big boy up (he likes to be held like a rag doll) and start giving him some loving. I open the door and Inky saunters up to him and gives him a kiss. He heads for the food bowl and I call mom. I found your baby, I said. Oh thank goodness. I was so worried about him! She's about to cry so I get off the phone since she's at work and doesn't need to cry at work. The Happy End.

Moral of the story: Give your kids enough rope and they will hang themselves.

I would add a picture of Dinky, but Blogger isn't playing nice for me today.