Well, that was sudden.

My kids know the best way to get my attention early in the morning is with a note.

They leave notes for me, on Ol' Bessy, my ancient laptop (the one that no longer gets online, but is useful for keeping documents).

Notes asking for an early wake up.  Notes telling me "I'll need the car today" or "I won't be home tonight."  Once a note telling me there was a cottonmouth snake downstairs, and to please not let the cats do down there until the very venomous critter could be returned to the creek.

So i never quite know what to expect when coming downstairs in the morning, and that's not just how high dishes are in the sink of which cats are screaming for food.

#1 Son has been trying to move out and be on his own for quite some time.  He has managed a couple of times to get going, and then have the rug pulled out from under him, landing him back here.

The other day i came downstairs to this:

His "I'm moving out!" note.

Later, before he went to work that day, he gave me the details.

"Hey, mom, did you get my note?" he asked.

Of course i did, i said.

"Well, remember Sam?" he asked.

How could i forget the person who dropped SissyCat/Tripod off here 'for a couple of weeks' and never came back for her? i asked drily.

"Well, yes, there was that.  But SissyCat is better off here, anyway.  Remember what a mean, nasty cat she was when she got here, and now she's sweet and loving and lets everyone pet her.  But anyway, I'm moving in with Sam and Fred!"

Sam owns the trailer she lives in, right?  And Fred is her fiancé?

"Yes.  She owns the trailer, and her family owns the land so there's no danger they'll be kicked out.  And she and Fred are only using the one bedroom on one side of a double-wide that has three bedrooms.  And they've been talking about getting someone to rent a bedroom on the other end of the trailer, and last night when I was over there I was telling them I was still looking for a place, and they said they were thinking of getting someone and could I move in tomorrow!  So, it's tomorrow, and I'm moving in."

Except that you will have further to drive to work, it sounds ideal, i said.

"It's only $300 a month, and that's the room, electric, water, TV, and internet, so it is ideal!" he said.

"They said I can bring the cats, too, but not right away.  It's going to take me a few days of moving stuff a bit at a time around work to get everything there.  And I'll take Mikey in the next couple of days, get him used to things, and then EnigmaSissy."

Do they have other pets? i asked.

"They have an iguana, and a huge fish tank, and a dog," he said.

Well, you will have to watch EnigmaSissy, i noted.  You know she attacks other animals, and she's likely to camp out in front of an aquarium and plan on how to get fish for dinner.

"Huh, I'd like to see that!" he said.  "The aquarium is a giant one with coral reefs and there's no way she can get it in, although she will probably love watching it.  The iguana is bigger than she is, and mean, and whips you with its tail, she'll leave him alone after one encounter with that.  As for the dog, you are right, we will have to watch.  She used to chase Meatball and Luther around the house, and they were pit bulls."

Sweetheart, i'm glad for you, i said.

"Thanks, mom," he said.  "And thanks for being so patient with me while I looked for a place."

Glad to.  Really, i was glad to.

Today is

Buffalo Soldiers Day -- US (as designated by Congress)

Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval a/k/a Expulsion of the Acadians Day -- Canada
        
Festival of Hedjihotep -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (goddess of weaving; date approximate)

Imp-Handling Conference -- Fairy Calendar

Independence Day -- Peru(1821)

Liberation Day / Anniversary of the Fall of Fascism -- San Marino

Nagasaki Peiron Senshuken -- Nagasaki, Japan (two day dragon boat racing festival begun in the 17th century)

National Milk Chocolate Day

Olavsokuaftan (Olavsoka Eve) and the Olai Festival -- Faroe Islands (St. Olav's Eve, the night before the opening of Parliament and the festival of St. Olav; through tomorrow)

Soma-Nomaoi -- Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (three day wild horse chase which recreates a battle from over 1,000 years ago)

St. Arduinus of Trepino's Day (Patron of Trepino, Italy)

Terry Fox Day -- born in Winnipeg on this date in 1958, he raised $24 million for cancer research by running over 3,000 miles on an artificial leg before his death in 1981 at age 23

World Hepatitis Day -- International 


Anniversaries Today

The first Singing Telegram is delivered, 1933
Henry VIII marries Catherine Howard, 1540


Birthdays Today

Lori Loughlin, 1964
Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox, 1958
Hugo Chavez, 1954
Sally Struthers, 1948
Linda Kelsey, 1946
Jim Davis, 1945
Rick Wright, 1945
Bill Bradley, 1943
Phil Proctor, 1040
Darryl Hickman, 1931
Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, 1929
Jacques Piccard, 1922
Earl Tupper, 1907
Rudy Vallee, 1901
Joe E. Brown, 1892
Beatrix Potter, 1866 
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 1746


Today in History

Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason, 1540
Bermuda is first settled by Europeans, survivors of the English ship Sea Venture en route to Virginia, 1609
Maximilien Robespierre is executed by guillotine in Paris during the French Revolution, 1794
Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina, 1865
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, guaranteeing due process and establishing citizenship for African Americans is certified, 1868
First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, 1935
The Metropolitan Police Flying Squad foils a bullion robbery in the "Battle of London Airport", 1948
The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan, the People's Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851, 1976
Andorra joins the United Nations, 1993
Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championships, 2001
The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty year long armed campaign in Northern Ireland, 2005
The U-550, a sunken German U-Boat, is discovered off the cost of Massachusetts, 2012