Life is a Beach

It happened again. I know I keep complaining about it... but it just keeps happening. No matter what I say or do, these two parental units that I have unwittingly brought into my life keep on trying to boss me around. They never consult me on anything nor do they so much as solicit an opinion from me about anything. All they do is hide behind closed doors and plan their next move so they can spring it on me without so much as a memo or a note of warning.

Their latest infraction...

We now live in a different house.

I don't know how or even when it happened. All I know is that one day my Mommy and Daddy took me to see an empty place. It was bigger and had a bigger front and back yard and the neighborhood was a lot nicer. I liked it. I had my Mickey Mouse Fire Truck with me so I rolled across the empty rooms and had a great time... next thing I know, it's 3 weeks later and I now live there. I didn't even know we could do that. Apparantly moving to a new house is no big deal in this country. People do it all the time, Daddy says. Well not in my country. Where I come from you're considered lucky if you have a house at all... much less having the chance to move to a bigger and better one.

So we moved from a place called South Miami to a place called Miami Beach. Have you guys ever heard of this beach thing? It's a lot of fun. The gound is covered with this crazy stuff called sand and you can dig with it and build castles with it and throw it at people and even eat it, although I do not reccomend it. There's water constantly rushing in... and then rushing out. In... and then back out. All day and all night. It is awesome! If you've been following this blog you know how much I love water so it was only natural that I love the beach too.

The first time I went my parents were nervous about how I would react. I didn't take to grass right away and certain types of dirt still cause me trouble... but I found sand to be a real treat. I love it on my hands, I love it on my feet, I love it in between my toes and I love it on my face and in my ears. I can't get enough if it. And then I heard Daddy explaining to Mommy that sand is really crushed and pulverized rocks that have been beaten into submission by the water... I loved it even more.

So now Mommy and I go to the beach every chance we get. If we have 3 hours to kill before Daddy gets home from work... Beach! If Mommy suddenly gets a free afternoon because of a cancelled meeting with a client or something... Beach! Rememeber that my mother is from an island. Going to the beach for her is like going to the grocery store for everybody else. It's just something that you know that you are going to do every week... it's just a matter of when.

Funny story about the move. Mommy and Daddy split up into two teams on moving day. Mommy stayed behind at the old house and waited for the movers to arrive while Daddy went ahead to the new house and waited for the electricity guys, the water guys, the cable guys, the internet guys and the washer and dryer guys to show up and get the new place up and running. The idea was to have everything hooked up and running by the first night so we could at least sleep comfortably.
Everything went according to plan except that when the movers arrived at the old house, all of the commotion spooked the cat and she took off running outside as soon as she got an opening. The movers were there for about 3 hours loading up all of our stuff and Mommy was starting to get worried. She called Daddy and told him that movers or no movers, she was not about to leave that cat behind. Daddy had a slightly different opinion. He assured her that the cat was fine and that she had to leave it behind in order to stay on schedule. Mommy didn't care about the schedule... not even when Daddy reminded her that we were paying these movers by the hour. So Daddy finally had to promise her that he would, personally, go back to the old house everyday after work until he found that stupid cat and would then bring her to the new house where she belonged.

So Mommy reluctantly agreed and loaded up her car and led the movers on the long road to the new house on the beach. She worried about that cat the whole way and when she arrived at the new house she couldn't help but share with Daddy her angst over leaving her beloved Lola behind. Daddy consoled her for a moment and then proceeded to the truck and started directing the movers on where to put the boxes and the furniture. They unloaded the bed, they unloaded the sofas and the TVs and the shelves and the computers and the desks and the chairs.
After about 2 hours of unloading and organizing the movers were bringing in the last of the furniture from the truck. It was an old chest of drawers that Mommy and Daddy use in the guest room. That's when one of the mover guys says to Daddy in a thick Cuban accent:

Ju know ju got a pussy gato hiding in here, right?
Excuse me? Daddy said
The Pussy Gato... Che's in here... An I think che had an assident too.

The mover then opened the bottom drawer and out came flying Lola the cat. It was the funniest thing because I think she was expecting to come out at the old house and she sprinted out into her brand new living room and had no idea where to go or what to do. Mommy screamed with excitement and was very relieved that Lola was safe and sound. Daddy was very relieved that he didn't have to drive all the way to the old house in South Miami everyday after work like he promised Mommy.

Yes, Padrino Poncho, I realize that those goldfish are yours but I don't think you realize how badly I will hurt you if don't share them.

What? Aw comeon! I was kidding with him! He knows I was kidding, right? How could I possibly threaten him... he must out-weigh me by at least 15-20 pounds.

It's not everyone that can pull off wearing a hat like that.

And the sandy feet? Bonus!

I don't think my girl Gia is enjoying the beach quite as much as her Daddy thinks that she is.

This is a picture of my Madrina Michele... my Padrino Poncho and Gia at the beach with us. When this picture was taken Madrina Michele had just given birth 4 months earlier...

Mommy says that we are all allowed, by law, to hate her just a little bit.

Esteban Joel... the sandy-footed monstor lies in wait for the perfect moment to strike his prey... well, maybe after his bottle.