Snapshot #101: My Parents Visit

Posted by: Allison Helps Cats on: October 27, 2017

• In: Teasers
• 10 Comments

Saturday Snapshot invites bloggers to share photos.This past month, I had the pleasure of my parents coming to visit me for the first time since my wedding. As an added perk, they got to stay with my husband and I in our new house. In addition, although they had met our dog before, all our cats were new to them. My parents visited for eleven days.

The first weekend was a lazy one. They were tired from their trip; we were tired from a month of packing, moving, and unpacking. We did take then shopping for food for their stay and for our pets. As part of the latter, we took them to a pet store and they saw their first ferret. My step-mom even held one! We also took them to a service at my church and to a local book store. Ironically, I was the one who ended up buying a book. Otherwise, most of the rest of the first weekend, we took naps and played games. My parents got to see the Crokinole board that they had bought for us a few years ago, because Crokinole was a favorite game of my childhood.

Then there were a few rainy days. Limited in the places we could go, we visited my workplace. My boss got to meet my parents AND three of our pets. We also showed my parents the main branch of our library. My dad and I both found books to read! And we introduced them to more stores. At one of them, we bought fixings for a cheese and cracker night. When one can’t go out, it’s great to do stuff indoors. We invited former neighbors over to play board games. They gave us a housewarming gift. We also visited my mother-in-law to play games and our parents met my in-laws energetic puppy.

Once the sunshine returned, the outdoor adventures could begin. One day we took my parents to see the local university, which is also where Andy works. They also attended a dog agility class with us and got to see Barnaby perform. Another day we took my parents to our local wildlife safari park AND to an outlet mall. We were exhausted that day! But we also had lots of photos, clothes, and memories. A third day we took my parents to a local city garden AND to a local children’s zoo. At the latter, they got to ride a train around the zoo. A bird in the aviary fancied my step-mom and sat in her lap. In the evening, we had more friends over to play games.

All too soon, it was the weekend before my parents had to leave. On Saturday, we visited our local Farmers’ Market and a souvenir shop. On the drive back, we stop to pick up ingredients for a meal that my step-mom wants to prepare for us. That same day, we attended an outdoor celebration at my church, went for a walk around the neighborhood, and watched a movie. On our walk, we met children who wanted to pet our dog and cats. During the movie, our pets all snuggled close and coaxed for food. On Sunday, we attended a service at the church where I work. Then in the afternoon, we toured our local no-kill cat shelter and asked many questions. Wrapping up the evening, my in-laws visited and we played more games.

On our last day together, we play games, walked around a park, and tried not to think off what lay ahead. The visit was a memorable one. After my parents left, our lives and house felt empty and quiet. But we’ve already made plans to visit them next summer!

Tags: Allison's Book Bag, reviews of books for young people, Saturday Snapshot meme