Monday, Monday

Another weekend has come and gone and I find myself wondering what the hell happened. I woke up on Friday, knowing I had the day off to spend with the kids and suddenly it was Sunday night. I was tired, sore and had no recollection of how I got there. I’ve been able to piece some things together.

Friday night I took my friend out for his birthday. We had decided to go to the Wolf Sanctuary for a wolf howl. We’ve both been avid conservationists for many years and have supported the Wolf Sanctuary for the past decade. And, somehow, we had never made it out for the howl.

What is a wolf howl?

Well . . . here’s how it works. You go out to the sanctuary and meet at the guard house after sun down. As it gets darker and darker, a volunteer gets you together as a group and brings you down to an old army bunker somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. It’s a five minute drive from the guard house to the bunker. And you have to watch out for deer on the road. Gripping the wheel, white knuckled, I was searching the darkness for deer, knowing what happens to a car when it meets a deer. The deer dies, but so does the car.

At the bunker we went through a program that detailed the history of the sanctuary, how the wolves are raised and are reintroduced into the wild, their role in staving off extinction because of stupidity, etc.

We then watched a video that explained wolf howls, what each species sounds like and what they mean. Bundling up to go out in the cold, we marched a half mile out to the wolf enclosures. Only the people running the program had flashlights. So, it was dark. I mean, really dark. And out in the distance you could feel the presence of the animals. Something would rustle behind you. You’d hear breathing. At one point we heard the maned wolf making noise that can only be described as a “growf”. It was pretty amazing knowing that these beautiful and powerful animals were only a few yards away.

We shut off all the lights and the volunteers howled out to the wolves to see if they would answer. They had no luck. They tried a recording of wolf howls. Nothing. They weren’t singing tonight. So it was our turn. First the kids, then the women and then the men.

After the men howled, one wolf answered. It was a lonely sound. Mournful and distant. We think it was the alpha male from their Red Wolf pack. Recently he had lost a cub in a storm and ever since, they say, his howl has had a dark and sad note to it. You could hear it. As he howled, his mate would punctuate his mournful notes with a short burst that seemed to confirm his sadness.

It was amazing. Standing out in the dark, surrounded by roughly seventy wolves that you couldn’t see, listening to their main man telling you a story. It was a moving experience. As the group was walking back to the bunker, I wished I could just sit there for a little while longer. Silent and unmoving, just listening and feeling the animals just beyond me.

After the howl, we went out for a beer. In honor of my Jack London style experience, I drank beer called “Rogue Dead Guy Ale”. It tasted much better than it sounds.

While we were at the howl, Matilda was out with mom at a Girl Scout bonfire. They froze. Because of local fire laws, Mom said it was more like a match that stared at you threateningly. But they had fun.

Gertrude went out with Aunt “Maneen” for dinner and shopping. From what she told me the next day, she had an absolute blast. Good food, Wiggles jammies, stuffed animals, you name it. Aunt Maneen really knows how to party with the girls.

Saturday Aunt Maneen came back to take Matilda out to the pumpkin patch. Gertrude watched through the window as Matilda got in aunt Maneen’s car and she cried mournfully, “I come with! I come with!”

When Matilda returned, we were in the back yard raking leaves so that I could mow the lawn. She said she had a really good time, got some food, got pumpkins, and drank soda. A perfect kid day.

“What did you have for lunch,” I asked.

“I didn’t really have lunch,” she answered. “I just had corn on the cob, chicken kabobs and a funnel cake.”

Wow. I wonder what she considers lunch. I’d kill for a meal like that.

Matilda got Gertrude up from her nap and taught her how to jump into the pile of leaves.

I have never seen a look of such joy on Gertrude’s face. She looked like she was having more fun than she has ever had in her life. She would take off running and leap into the leaves head first. She’d leap and frolic to her heart’s content.

The girls never looked happier. They both had spent time with the coveted Aunt Maneen and now they were frolicking in the best that nature had to offer.

You can buy your kids all the toys in the world. You can get them new clothes, videos, expensive bikes and more. But, all they need is a pile of dried leaves, a good sibling and a nice day. That is what childhood is all about.