Mom has been cleaning. She said it is partly her annual Spring cleaning, partly getting ready to add a housemate when we return after our Spring trip, and partly for the party we will have Sunday to celebrate Dad’s life. When she is planning to have guests in the house, I know that she tries to clean off what she calls the “flat places.” They are some of my favorite places. She always has an interesting collection of items on the end tables and counters that are perfect for me to push onto the floor proving that gravity still works. Gravity, as you may know, is a theory that relies on cats to verify daily. I know that come Sunday morning, she will still be tucking things away, so that the spaces will be cleared for people to rest plates of food. She has already expanded the dining room table to its full length and added extra chairs. I know there will be food enough for the guests to enjoy lunch and dinner on Sunday, Monday and undoubtedly Tuesday. I wish I liked sloppy joes or macaroni salads. I would love to sneak a taste or two of the potato salads. I’m not that fond of potatoes, but I do like the dressings that she uses.

My big disappointment will be that Miko, Missy and I will be confined to the van. If she just has a couple of friends, she lets me say “Hi” and just asks us to stay off the table while everyone is eating. Before and after, she keeps the doors closed so we can’t eat the left overs. I have been known to try a taste off the dirty plates when they are stacked in the kitchen. She makes some really yummy dishes. I’m hopeful that I might get to do that after everyone leaves on Sunday. Missy will probably run around the house hoping that she finds food that has been dropped on the floor. I have higher standards.

This will be a hard day for Mom. Friday will have been Dad’s 83rd birthday. She has collected a few pictures of Dad through his life and of their travels together. She plans to have the pictures in a slide show on the televisions. At the end of the month, they would have celebrated 26 years of being together as a couple. They shared a lot of adventures during those years. Mom said that she plans to take Dad’s ashes to where they had their cabin. She said that is what Dad wanted. I’m happy that Miko, Missy and I will get to go with her. It will be a sad day, but she says they had so many happy moments there. Isn’t life always a mixture of sad and happy moments? I know mine has.