Summer's Here! It's Hot!

Originally posted 6/01/2008

When I was younger, my Summer Break consisted of; sleeping until noon (possibly later), sitting around the house, eating cheetos & trying to find ways to get in trouble (trouble was situational to age at time). This summer, my older daughter has actvities planned up to the week before school starts. She has Summer Camp, Summer Camp with enrichment, Karate Camp, Science Center Camp and Swimming Camp. It's absolutely out-of-control! Am I wrong for glomming all of these activities on to her? She claims that she wants to do them, and that staying home with me is boring...which is totally true.

This summer, I will likely enjoy some sleeping...not likely the cheetos, and I somehow doubt the trouble. And you know what, I am kinda sad about that. I miss both trouble and cheetos. I remember the Cheetos Paws, they were these awesome, cheetah paw shaped (hence the name, right?) blobs of cheeto-ee goodness. They only came in the smallish bag, and were highly coveted by all members of my family, most specifically, my Mom, and Siska, the family dog. Siska was a wild (as in CRAZY) Siberian Husky. Cheetos were just one of her favorite treats. She also enjoyed day-old underpants, dirty socks, and anything she could fish out of the bathroom trashcan. She was gross. My Mom, not so gross, but sure loved HER cheetos paws. And they were, in fact, HERS. She did not approve of the kids eating the paws. She did not approve of the dog eating the paws either. She also did not approve of me getting in trouble.

So, one night, I was up to my usual shenanegans. I had a mad, huge party at my house in Montgomery. There were people dialing long distance, people throwing cheerios in the ceiling fan (oh, that was my sister, I forgot), and underage people sharing beer with my overage next door neighbors. So, the next day, after the party was mostly over, we began the cleaning process. Somehow, in all the frenzied cleaning cafuffule, Siska got her paws on THE PAWS and went berzerk. She was so desperate to get away from us, she tore through the screen door and out in to the backyard. She ran in circles with those damn cheetos in her mouth for 15 minutes or more. When we finally got her, and wrangled the Paws from her mouth, Mom was due home in just an hour. We forgot all about the rest of the cleaning, and spent about 30 minutes WIPING CLEAN THE CHEETOS PAWS WITH NAPKINS. We put the Cheetos back into the bag. No doggie slobber or dirt to be seen.

Mom, I am sorry. We let you eat the Cheetos Paws. The Cheetos Paws that were in the mouth of the dog that ate dirty panties and socks and God knows what grossness from the bathroom trashcan. I am so sorry. You understood about the ripped screen door and the stain in the hallway and even the cheerios that we found for years later in the cracks and crevices of the living room. But you would have never understood why we ate all the Paws. Never.