2: No Monday blues here, thanks to BIL!

So it’s Monday.

And normally, I’m not the biggest fan.

But there are at least two good things about today. One, the fact that Daylight Savings made for a much easier waking-up process this morning. I’m not sure if it’s because the sun comes out earlier, allowing me to gradually ease into it, or what. But I certainly feel more energetic today than the typical Monday morning.

Two, it’s my brother-in-law’s birthday today! Joe’s baby brother John turns 28 today, and that means this weekend it’s gonna be time to paaarrr-taaaay! So just knowing that this week is going to end in a bash to celebrate John’s birthday should help the days fly by…

 

Anyway, I thought I’d share a couple stories about John in honor of his birthday! I’m also using today’s writing prompt from NaBloPoMo, which is to “write about a once-in-a-lifetime event/activity” …Because just about EVERY event or activity with John seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

For starters, there was the day I first met John. It also happened to be my second date with Joe. Oh, and it was ALSO my first time attending the Scottish Highland Games (definitely a once-in-a-lifetime sort of event…except that we go to two or three of them every year now).

To be perfectly honest, I don’t remember a ton of specifics about that day, just impressions of how much fun it was. One thing I remember pretty vividly was walking into John’s place, taking one look at him and thinking, “Wow, he is DEFINITELY Joe’s brother.”

 

Then there’s the wine.

People, this guy knows a LOT about wine. It’s really kind of amazing. Every time we visit John and Kelly, it seems like they’ve just come back from another wine-tasting weekend. And I’m not complaining, because they like to share the goods! I’m still nowhere near as knowledgeable about wines as John is, but thanks to him, I’ve begun to develop a better “taste” for what kinds of wine I like and don’t like.

Oh, and another little wine-related fact about John? This Halloween he dressed up as Jesus. He said he thought about getting one of those trick glasses that “turns water into wine” but it was little overboard for one Halloween costume. Instead, he brought bread and fish to feed 5,000! Or, you know, 50. We can’t ALL be that miraculous.

Last but not least, a little story that’s not specifically about John, but instead…his cat. (Ironically named Beaker…which is only ironic if you read my post a few days ago about the Beaker Conspiracy.)

Beaker is a LARGE orange cat with an even larger personality. (And when I say he’s large, I mean he’s BEHEMOTH.) Now, allergies aside, I’ve still never been a huge fan of cats. But this guy is just too funny not to love.

 

Back in the early months of my relationship with Joe, we went to John’s to hang out one night and were relaxing in his living room, maybe watching a movie or something. I was sitting on the far end of a couch, and I didn’t realize that Beaker was crouched on the floor next to the couch. I had reached forward to take a sip of a drink, then rested my arm on the side of the couch, when I felt a strong, furry TAP on my forearm…

I saw Beaker, now crouched back on the floor, in total attack mode, and I decided to play along. I moved my arm off the side of the couch, then back on. And he lunged. We did this for a few minutes, and I was laughing uncontrollably  — to the point that I started wheezing (no surprise, thanks to my allergies). I had to stop playing, but Beaker didn’t care if I was done. He just kept tapping my arm over and over for another few minutes.

Funny, right?

But it’s not even the best Beaker story I have up my sleeve. The ABSOLUTE best memory I have of John’s crazy cat? Was the first time I used their bathroom.

I didn’t realize there was about an inch and a half of space between the floor and the bottom of the sliding bathroom door, and even if I had, it wouldn’t have occurred to me that a little cat paw might venture to reach in when I was taking care of business. So I’m sitting there, you know…taking care of business, when I hear the door rattle a little. I hollered, “I’ll just be a minute!” when I heard the rattle again.

I was just about to say, “Geez, have a little PATIENCE, will ya?” when I glanced down and saw the culprit’s white-and-orange paw reaching as far under the door as he could: he was going for my pants, I swear! I laughed so hard I almost fell off the toilet.

So, there you have it. My brother-in-law John is a wealth of entertainment, in so many ways! I can’t wait to celebrate the day he graced the world with his presence.

Happy birthday John!