June 29, 2018

White Dog sat with me. "Planning for opera season is a dance of details," she reminded me. "I get excited along with you about the music and ritual but it is such a long evening and night for the rest of us...we worry when it gets so late."

"Sweet Girl, I understand that dad and I disappearing at 5pm and not returning until the wee hours of the morning must seem like forever. Thank you for helping the others through their worries and for knowing how much we look forward to this series of events."

A good plan will help everyone feel calmer we decided so White Dog and I set about to share what was going to happen so everyone would have time to think, ask questions and be reassured that there was nothing to fear. Bailey, Tiz, and Roman have not experienced this time of year with us before.

We decided that it was too long a time for Roman to be locked in his crate but we still needed all to feel safe; including him. Steve and I ran through several ideas before deciding that with the new taller kitchen gate Roman in his muzzle would have plenty of room to move about and be comfortable. He would be able to curl in a corner to avoid the fireworks that have already begun in our neighborhood.

Nilla is not bothered by the noise and is already used to spending evenings on the sun porch. She will be fine gated there with the front door left ajar so she benefits from swamp cooler breezes. On the porch she has a water bowl and a comfy mat, plus room for a potty pad.

The others will be unaffected with normal access to the dog door and water bowls. We will leave the Watching Window blinds open so Pearl and Bella can monitor the evening and see when Pumpkin finally comes home.

All of those details suited the White Dog Army. Tizenegy asked the question most critical, "Are we going to have to wait until 1am for dinner?" WD laughed.

"Sweet Boy," I told him, "opera nights are jackpot nights. You will get to eat dinner at 5pm when we leave...and then we will have chicken strips when we return. You can munch while we tell you about the opera." Reassured, tails wagged.

White Dog added a tease. "PLUS momma and dad will share bites from their tailgate supper and it is our favorite! Since the opera is Madam Butterfly, they are picnicking on Asian Street Food: Ginger and Scallion Squid, Grilled Chicken Summer Roll, Steamed Dumplings, and Crispy Noodles. You can see from the menu that they will have leftovers in the cooler when they come back...and fruit empanadas, too!"

WD's final bit of news had the Army nearly packing us out a night early. "We will be OK, momma. Just have fun, don't overeat, and hurry home."

Still, there IS a part of me, that will be thinking of them throughout the evening.