The punctual dog and jumping hoops

As I sit here typing tonight, I realize that the dog makes far too much noise running up and down the stairs now that the carpet has been removed... I think he realizes it as well -- which is exactly why he's doing it at this relatively late hour. You see - he's a very punctual dog. He expects us all to go to bed at our regular time with positively no regard for Friday night exceptions. Each night he comes bounding through the house to find me and then sits ... very, very still... he waits. And he stares. (He has one of those stares that can make just about anyone feel uncomfortable... It's a talent -- he should be on Pet Star.) Of course - I am a superior being and I know that he will be staring... so I ignore him at all costs -- though I can feel him staring at the side of my head. Eventually, he caves and starts talking. He's a talking dog. I can't really call it growling.. or whimpering.. or barking... It's the closest thing to talking I've ever heard come from a dog.. though I suppose he needs to work on pronunciation a bit...

Recently being thwarted by the 'no speak' command when he tries to tell us it's bedtime -- he has taken to running up and down the stairs until he gets our attention. Hmm.. actually.. it's not 'running up and down' so much as running up and tumbling, clanging, and scraping down... but the effect is the same - so no matter.

Sigh. Therefore, tonight's post will be brief as I must put an end to the dog-and-stair drama soon before he injures himself or wakes a sleeping baby....

Soon after yesterday's post - I received a phone call on the cell letting me know that a fresh new set of assessors were on the way to the house from Allied American on behalf of MDA. I managed to email Dave at work in time and we were both here to greet them. A man and woman - I'm assuming a husband and wife team - arrived even earlier than expected .. and did spend a good deal of time going over the damage in the house. The most encouraging thing to me was the fact that they seemed totally unaware that they were actually doing a second assessment as they were very careful to explain the entire process to us as if we were going through this for the first time. They were thorough and friendly - and, remarkably, did not have to be told that our cabinets were the originals and had to be removed (they actually noticed the drilled holes, mud line, flaking paint and failing glue all by themselves). They also not only asked to see our repair receipts -- but also wanted to know if we had any estimates or even any of our own ideas as to what the rest of the repairs were going to end up costing us. Most importantly - they did explore the entire house... closets, bathrooms... including the upstairs. The fellow even showed an interest in seeing the damage to our attic -- but when he tried to open the rotting trap-door and the handle came off in his hand - he decided against it.

On a totally human note -- these two were just that: totally human. If nothing else.. it was nice of them to sympathize... and they took the time to tell us that they personally believed this program was actually aiming to help people -- unlike so many others we have all been involved in. They wanted us to feel encouraged before they left -- and told us repeatedly to keep hanging in there.

I'm not sure that any of it actually eased my skepticism... It's actually too risky emotionally to get my hopes up at this point in the game... But I can at least add another positive people-oriented experience to my post-Katrina repertoire and relax a little knowing we've cleared another hoop.