Tom Kitty and Tom the Doggie are Already Married!

Our house has been busy with wedding plans for over a year.  Danny and April were engaged for 13 months and just recently tied the knot.  Those thirteen months represented a time of extreme planning, fun, family building, and more fun.  The beautiful wedding was celebrated with family from around the country.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house during the vows as they recounted the stories of generations who are no longer with us physically, but clearly - still very much present. It was a great party. They are married and now we all settle back into everyday life.

Or so we thought until we ate dinner together last night.

We celebrated winter turkey day yesterday.  Winter turkey day is the day we use the reserve turkey from the freezer and do it up with all of the fixings of Thanksgiving.  Everyone comes - not necessarily for the company or the frivolity of winter turkey day but, they come instead for the turkey stuffing.  Hey, whatever works!

Emma, our four year old granddaughter, was excited to see "Aunt" April for the first time since the wedding.  It had been Emma's first wedding and it had been every exciting for her.  Marriage and weddings are very clearly a major focus for her.  We knew how Emma romanticized the event, but her story of last night had us in stitches. Read the following with a giggly drama, grand hand gestures, and a lot of tossed hair.

She started with "Finnegan Hickey asked me to marry him.  I said no though.  He's so funny.  I can't marry him!"

Aunt April, collapsed in laughter, looked at me for verification. Oh yes, Finnegan Hickey is a real person and yes, they are smitten.

Emma goes on.  "I told him no, but he still kissed me and hugged me!  He's so silly!"

I thought "Mommy" Andrea would leap from her chair.  "What???" was all that came out of her mouth because she too was having a hard time portraying an appropriate "Mommy" demeanor.  Her look clearly said, "What are you doing when not in my care?  How do I not know these things?  Who's watching you?"  All remain unasked and unanswered, although we all know the answers.

Andrea pulls herself together to add to the Emma/Finn story.  She recounts a conversation with Finn's mother who verified that Emma is, indeed, the object of Finn's affection.  Andrea also tells us of another coincidence.  Emma has a constant companion in "Tom Kitty" who is, by the way, a female over-loved plush kitten who started life as a fluffy pink cat and has morphed into a matted, grey, limp kitty.  Tom Kitty has been the comfort of choice for about four years.  Now we find that Finn also carries a little comfort with him and his name is - what for it - "Tom the Doggie."  Andrea has already verified that "Tom the Doggie" has also been so named for almost four years and is as sad looking as Tom Kitty.  What kismet!

Emma wanted to jump back into the conversation at this point and informed us that Tom Kitty and Tom the Doggie are already married.  Yes that's right.  She said "We already married them."  Everyone at the table had a good laugh learning of the newest union.

Even though it seemed that the wedding planning and activities were over for now, we failed to recognize that everyone may not yet be ready to move on.  A four year old is so open to life.  Anything is possible when you are open to it.  Point in case - the marriage of Tom Kitty and Tom the Doggie.  We'll continue to monitor the situation with Finnegan and Emma (Mommy will definitively be monitoring a little closer).  Maybe we're not quite ready to retire the wedding talk or maybe kindergarten will change everything.  One thing is for sure - winter turkey day did prove to be more about the company and frivolity than the stuffing.  It is one for the books.