April 16, 2008

Today we met Ava. Ava is a little 3-year-old who was seated next to us at an outdoor cafe where we were having lunch. I was there with my daughter and my two Yorkies.

Ava, as it turns out, is a dog lover; especially little dogs because they're so "cute" and easy to hold and play with. Of course that's exactly what she set out to do - hold and play with Kalina and Matty Lu. The girls were doing so well, sitting in the shade on this unexpectedly sunny and warm day. For once they were in perfect harmony. As my daughter and I ate they were content to lie on the cool concrete under the umbrella and drink from the little cup of water I had placed there for them. It was an idyllic and contented luncheon. I was just mentally dreaming about how sometimes the best times are unplanned; spontaneous.

That's when Ava showed up. I noticed her as she spotted the two little dogs. Slowly, slowly she would creep closer. K and M had noticed her too and stood up to watch her approach. With each step Ava took toward the girls they would run between the legs of my chair until their leashes were tangled into something resembling the inside of a golf ball.

Suddenly Ava was close enough to make a grab for Kalina, who responded by backing under my chair and pulling at a now too short leash. I thought my chair would go over. I must give credit to Ava, though. She was fast. Before Kalina had a chance to do anything else she turned to Matty and again made a grab. Matty flattened to the ground in surrender, head down.

"Oh, she just wants to pat the dogs". This from Ava's mom, who was sporting a beatific smile and a look of sheer pride in her offspring. I got up from my chair and untangled the leashes and put the girls back on the ground. “Go ahead and pat them” I said. So she did. She patted and patted and patted them. She tried pulling them closer by their front legs so that she could “pat them better”. “She probably wants to hold one”. Ava’s mom again. By now all conversation with my daughter had come to a complete stop. By now our luncheon was All About Ava!

Now I love kids, believe me. I have a TON of kids in my life – children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and their kids too. I think the total number is around 50-something. And as I contemplated this I realized that it wasn’t Ava, it was Ava’s mom. Ava is just a little girl of three. Of course she wants to pat and play with Yorkies (gosh, who wouldn’t?) and of course she doesn’t mind if the perfect afternoon of two strangers is ruined. It’s Ava’s mom who is the non-disciplinarian of toddlers, and the stealer of fun times.