Wednesday, November 2, 2005

How McDonald’s Saved the Day

Well, Sunday was supposed to be a very special day for the boys.  We heard on the radio that the local Petco was having a Halloween costume contest for pets at 2 PM.  So, we were getting ready and planned the day around the event.  We wanted to make sure the boys were appropriately tired for the event so that they wouldn’t be jumping around like the little Mexican jumping beans they are.  So, we took them for a nice long walk and then we took them in the car for a quick drive to McDonald’s so that we would be fed ourselves and able to go the contest with a “Zen” attitude.  So, we ordered at the drive through speaker and when it came time to pay, we met a very sweet girl (the cashier) named Breeann. (I remember her name because I noticed it on her name tag and thinking what a lovely name.)  Well, she commented on how cute the boys were and she gave them some cookies.  She also told us that she has family in Vermont that have pugs, too.  It is always fun to meet other pug lovers in our daily lives.  Well, the boys shared one of the two packets of cookies that Breeann gave them and saved the other bag for later.  Then we went home, ate and packed up the goodies we would need for the costume contest.  Well, as you can see from the last blog posting that the boys are Batman and Robin this year for Halloween.  We were anxious to arrive at Petco with all the other pets and to see what they would be this year for Halloween.  (Last year’s winner at Petsmart was a bunny dressed up as a wizard and 2nd place went to 2 dancing poodles in hula skirts.)  So, we knew we weren’t the only nuts to get excited over Halloween. A few minutes later we pull in to the Petco shopping center, dressed the boys and walked into Petco.  It was about 2 minutes after 2 o’clock.  There was a customer leaving the Petco asking if we were there for the costume contest and proudly we said “Yes.”  Well, the wind was taken out of our sails when she said it was already over.  Quickly I thought to myself, “Already?  I know I had to sit that last light through 2 cycles but I am barely past 2:00.”  Seeing the disappointment on my face she said, “They announced the winner at 2:00 but you had to be here at 1:00 for viewing by the judges.”  “Oh,” I said.  We went into the store anyway and walked around as the boys excitedly sniffed the bags of dog food and treats.  Then we got back into the car and pouted the whole way home.  I felt like the mother of the child that brought her kid too late to the birthday party and the clown was gone and the cake had been eaten.  But then I noticed the other packet of cookies from Breeann from McDonald’s and that helped me to feel better.  I realized that is what saved our day.  The boys had another little bag of cookies to look forward to even if they missed out on the Petco party.  So, that is how McDonald’s saved the day.