The Return of Nils


Nils and crew just returned from their own vacation to Florida. I was very happy to have them come back because I really did miss Nils like crazy! When I was on the cruise ship, I had children keeping me busy, but a week in Rockford with no Nils is......just not normal.

Things quickly returned to normal, however. Monday night was extremely adventurous. Since the weather was nice, Nils and I spent some time outside. He wanted to drive around in his John Deere four wheeler. He's still getting used to this new machine. He loves to mash the accelerator down to the floor- and he loves to honk the horn. He has absolutely no interest in steering the thing! After he drove straight into the Lexus, I thought maybe I could help out. So I squeezed myself into the "passenger" seat. That in itself was amusing. Talk about no leg room! I held onto the wheel, while he hit the gas, and we started down the driveway. I tried to hand over hand help him steer, but all he cared about was the fact that we were moving- the direction did not matter. We were on the sidewalk going fairly straight thanks to me.......people were walking their dogs and looking at us curiously. There was a lot of laughter. If I let go of the wheel we quickly ended up in someone's yard- I screamed for him to stay on the road- and he laughed his head off! I've decided that Nils cannot have a driver's license for a very long time!

After our driving adventure, I thought it would be great to take the dog for a walk. I will not attempt that again any time soon....... The dog is huge and would not listen to me at all. Nils was obviously not in the mood for a walk....he just kept laying down on the ground and rolling in the dirt. We made it about a block and then were stuck. Molly wanted to keep going, Nils wanted to lay in the driveway, and I wanted to go home. I couldn't hold onto both of them. I couldn't leave either one behind. I had to stand there trying to talk Nils into following me and holding the leash very tightly with both of my hands. We stayed there for a long time. I kept hoping that a neighbor would see my distress and come out and help. Finally I saw daddy's car coming down the street. I was greatly relieved.....he waved and kept driving. I wanted to cry. Nils was laughing on the ground; Molly was trying to pull me down the street. I must have looked ridiculous. Anyway, daddy parked the car at home and then came back to assist me with the two unruly creatures.

So my life is now back to normal, definitely not boring, and Nils will probably not be going back on vacation for quite awhile! That's o.k. though. After our crazy time outside, as I was helping him with dinner, he climbed from his chair into my lap, hugged me and said, "I missed you." All is forgiven!