What a mad dash this weekend has been.

I left work at 5:00 Thursday and met my family (8 of us) for dinner. Then, we walked across the street for Sidney's play, Beauty and the Beast. This is Sid's first semester in performing arts and considering the number of students in the program, she was fortunate to get a speaking role, THE RUG! For weeks I have pretended to not know that she was playing The Rug and a townsperson and I have made many references to her being a teacup. She and her mother roll their respective eyes and correct me again and again. She was a very good rug and she was the only person on stage that tumbled. I can't imagine trying to do back handsprings in a sack but somehow she pulled it off.

After we left the play, I went and picked up little May/Royce (thank you for keeping her late Tammie!) and went home and took care of the doggies and got Brian ready to travel. My dad acquiesced to go with me at dinner. I packed my bags, packed Brian's crate. At 1:00AM Brian was bathed and we finished trimming his toe nails. I took a shower got in bed at 1:30AM and got right back out at 3:30AM. Dad and I loaded up a sleepy Brian and we were off.

Brian had a blanket but he just couldn't seem to get comfortable. He basically stood in the back of the wagon forever. We pulled over into a Burger King in Blue Ridge, Dad got a biscuit and I walked Brian. Brian did his business and away we went, following the GPS. We shouldn't have. The GPS unit took us down a dirt road that kept getting worse and worse. We hit a big bump and slowed to a crawl. Time was becoming an issue. Eventually we had to stop because the road was actually gated by the National Forest Sevice! I was livid and asked the GPS unit for the exact same location. It came up with a different answer, and it was 30 miles away, behind us. It was 8:30, the show started at 9:00 we were 30 miles away on roads that are called 'The Tail of the Dragon' because of how many sharp turns are on them. We were doomed.

I had already turned around and I was careening down the 'pig trail' (Dad always refers to it as 'The Pig Trail' now). We hit the pavement and I was off. Here is a hint, when a road that is known for being curvy puts up signs that read 10 MPH, they mean it. Racing is exactly what we were doing. We were desperate now. The problem was that I was bouncing Brian off the sides of the car and his anxiety was spiked at 110%. We actually had to pull off the road so that I could extract him from above the barricade because his big goofy butt had pushed it over. He had advanced from just drolling on the top of Dad's head to trying to actively slow me down!

Somehow, we pulled into the resort at the correct entrance and parked alongside the road. Smoke was coming from under the hood. Great. Nothing I could do then so I very calmly said, 'Dad, I'm taking Brian to find the handler. Park the car please.' The National Anthem was playing, I needed to find Nancy Walker who had graciously arranged a handler for us. I spoke to several helpful people and eventually found Nancy. 6-8 veteran bitches was complete and they were moving to the 8+ Veterans. Nancy introduced me to Anna. She was fabulous. I think she sensed that I was having a bad day. She took Brian and I walked away to compose myself.

To say that Anna did a good job is an understatement. Brian was SERIOUSLY stressed. She calmed him down and gave him treats and they became fast friends. We still had a little time and I watched as she and her friend worked with him. It was very impressive. I have worked with Brian but he has never had a lady 'show' him. I should not have worried. They were spectacular. In the end Brian got third. He just ran out of energy towards the end. He placed behind his brother Thunder handled by Collette and an excellent dog handled by Pam who went on to win Winners Dog. What was extra special was that Catie's Jimbo, my namesake and a Trojan/Sara Lee son, was right there too. He made the cut in a class of 18 outstanding mastiffs and finished fifth or sixth! I was pretty proud to see all three boys out there all lined up together!

Remember the car? It was leaking transmission fluid pretty badly. That big bump was worse than I expected...

We hung around and watched Winners, I spoke to Diane and a few others that I know and then we went up the hill to Catie's cabin. I hadn't eaten and I was seriously hungry. After we got Brian in his crate, Dad and I were going to get something to eat and then I realized I didn't have my wallet. I looked in every bag I had. Dad searched the car. It was gone.

Back down the hill and everyone was gone. I started telling everyone I met that I had lost my wallet and where to find me if they saw or heard of it. When we had exhausted our alternatives we went to eat. The nice lady at the register called all the local stores and told THEM to watch out for my wallet and name. North Carolinians are wonderful southerners. Dad and I each had a Rueben and then back up to the cabin. As we were sitting there afterward I was going over the thousand things that had happened in the last couple hours, I remembered putting something in the back bedroom of the cabin. Hope returned! When we got back I went straight to it and found my wallet. How embarassing.

We tried to nap but Catie had the air set on -237 degrees for the good of the dogs and since it was her cabin and she had gone home to swap boy dogs for girl dogs we just didn't have the energy or anyone with whom to argue. I slept for about half an hour and then walked Brian and another of Trojan's get, the aptly named, Winnie the Pooh. Winnie is a wonderful girl that bubbles loves and happiness. As far as I can tell, the only fault she has is that she doesn't like to go to the bathroom while on lead and she doesn't mind going in her crate. Which nessecitates a bath. Four times. Catie is a saint because I might have killed her.

I went to bed at 10:00 and woke up at 8:00. I still felt tired. Dad and Catie had been up since 5:00! I gotta hand it to the old dude, he handles sleep deprivation better than me! I went down and held Winnie and Gracie for Catie and spoke to a few folks. Winnie and Grace didn't place but they both showed well. I got an AKC DNA kit for Brian so while Catie bathed Winnie and her crate, again, dad and I went up to swab Brian. I wasn't sure exactly what they wanted back so I brought the swab, all the envelopes and the dog back down the hill.

I went back to the table were the DNA kits were and there was a different person there. We were second in line behind a VERY attractive young lady in a SHORT skirt who happened to be slightly bent over filling out paperwork. Brian. Oh Brian. Being and intelligent dog and never one to let an opportunity simple slide by, he stuck his snout between her legs and lifted her off the ground! I was mortified. The lady sitting behind the table burst out laughing, called the young lady by name and said, "did you get a little goosed?" To her never ending credit, the young lady said, "Yes I did, and I liked it!" You could have knocked me over with a feather. Apparently Brian liked it too because now he was busy whacking everyone sitting in the back row in the back of the head with his tail. I must have made quite a scene, mortified apologies to the young lady and to the folks being whacked by a well rested Brian. When he isn't tired he is a handful!

We got the kit turned in and went to find Catie. We took our menagerie to their crates and set off to eat. After we ate, we went back to the room and watched about four hours of NCIS. Of course, while my older more aged and more exhausted cabin mates would have just as soon left them in their crates, I kept letting Brian and Gracie out to wallow in the floor with me. NCIS is a great show but I was missing wrestling by now!

Soon enough the appointed hour arrived and I was off to the Ball Room for the Awards Banquet. Anxiety levels reached new highs. I wasn't nervous, just anxious and emotional. I had been developing cold sores around my mouth since Thursday evening when I raced across Alabama to get to that first dinner and now they were driving me crazy. They didn't help. I went in and was greeted by my savior, Diane Becker.

Diane has a wonderful family very much the way we have our family around Morrigan. I sat at Diane's table and watched as she and her family arranged things just so. I do enjoy people of strength and character and the folks around Diane all have tons of it. They had commandeered four tables and they were not about to relinquish them. When the call came to eat, Diane said 'come on!' I wasn't quick enough. By the time I had tucked in my chair, the line was 100 deep and we were sitting less than 50 feet from its head! Confidence is as confidence does. Diane would have none of it. She walked back over, grabbed me by the hand and took me to the front. If the folks behind us didn't like it, they didn't say a word. Like I said. Confident. I really enjoyed the time I spent with Diane and the conversation at the table. I got the sense that I was in the company of people that truly understood that it was about the dogs and everything else was just icing. Then the awards began.

The Hall of Fame inductees are first and Morrigan was the second girl called. Diane Collins massacred her name but I was expecting that and frankly, few wouldn't have. Gaelic is not exactly native to this country. It didn't detract from the moment. As I walked up to get the certificate I felt all the emotions of the previous days well up inside me. Not yet I told myself. I took the certificate and went back to our table. As I sat there, Diane leaned over and said, "I don't have one of those." I almost broke again but, not yet... I sat through a few more awards and fidgeted. It was over. Morrigan's place in history was secure. Diane soon leaned over and gave me permission, "you know, the rest is just like this with an auction at the end." I left soon after. It was raining hard and I left out the side door that got me closer to the car without exposing me to the rain. I stood there in the breezeway, alone but never alone. The sun had set but it was still twilight. You could still see the mountains and the fog. Everything was green and full of life. Beautiful. I said thank you to everyone.

When I got back up the hill, I was ready to go. I showed Catie the certificate but we loaded quickly and Dad and I were soon gone. We left at 9:30. We stopped at the first lighted location and checked the transmission fluid. It was fine and off we went. We stopped a few more times and got home at 1:15AM. I was in bed about 45 minutes later. I awoke at 11:00 the next morning and tended to the dogs. May was huge! She can crawl out of her laundry basket now and will soon graduate to the bath tub! Then I turned my focus to James' graduation party. Laura had left early to go cook at her mother's. Laura came home, jump started a sleepy James. He and Lesia had been playing video games when Dad and I got home.

I piddled around until James FINALLY left for work about 1:30 and I got started on my contribution to the party. I put together a 10 minute 'movie' with some of the 10,000 pictures I have of our lives in this laptop. I added 4 minutes of wrestling highlights to the end. Many of the people at the party have never seen James wrestle and that was going to change! Bully pulpit and all.

Dad, May and I arrived at 4:30. We were supposed to be there at 2:00. It took me a little longer to find pictures of all the people that I wanted in the movie. It did turn out well. In the rush to get out the door, I had forgotten to get May's bottle and I had to bribe Sidney's wonderful friend, Adrienne to go and retrieve it for us. The party went very well and there is nothing quite like Donald Walker pork. If you get the choice between bacon wrapped filet's and Donald's BBQ pork, go with the pork. The party was great and we got home about 9:30. I gave May a quick bath and we were in bed by 11:00. Finally, I can go back to work so I can rest.