The Mystery of Missing Socks

Spending a weekend at my elder brother's home this time was a unique experience. My elder brother is planning on going on a vacation so all of us had gathered at the house for a much-needed family time. I realize as you get older with your siblings getting married off and therapist expanding - having a family time gets harder and harder.

Everyone gets busy in their lives and trying to get some free time at the same moments as others is not as easy. Trying to match your schedules is an overly difficult task. This doesn't mean that we never meet. We do get to have 'get-togethers' but these are often lucky small like a get together of 4 or 5 persons.

Though family times like these where the entire extended family is here including my lovely grammy, parents, kids, and annoying siblings is a rarity. Knowing ahead that they will set off on Monday, we gave them a week to get everything together because intruding on a couple's privacy is something none of us are comfortable with. We had asked them ahead of time if we would be able to spend the weekend or not, and happily they agreed.

I was happy either way - the weekend + the see-off or just the see-off. The Saturday began with me waking up early as usual. Freshening up and having a glass of milk with some fresh fruits, I began by preparing a large breakfast to take with us. Mommy is on lunch duty and grammy has taken over the dinner.

I personally think it's a nice thing to do - if you are going to stay in someone else's house, it's better to avoid being a burden. And if you are not going to stay, instead have just come over for an hour or two, then it's okay for the host to take care of you. It's just my opinion, no offense meant to anyone.

With a batch of boiled eggs prepared, cut in half and garnished with salt and pepper - I moved to dice some fruit in preparation for a 'Fruit Sunday,' in case you don't get it - it's a made-up name derived from ice-cream Sunday. Fruits done! Eggs done! I got ready to make some stuffed croissants. Putting them in an oven to bake, I took a jug and made some fresh orange juice and just in time for the baking to be complete. With my sister handing me freshly brewed coffee, I put everything together and we all headed for the car.

With the chime of the bell, we were greeted by my sleepy brother - it seemed as if he sleepwalked to the door. The half-opened eyes, the sheer bear pajamas and halo for hair, looks like he still hates mornings. Quickly snapping a pic of the half-awake brother in front of me, we went in. The blackmail will come in handy. Do you have blackmail on your siblings?

The day passed quickly, we had Hawaiian pizza courtesy of my brother as a midnight snack. The main issue was my socks that were going missing, asking my adorable nephew and niece - just to know that they did not know anything about the missing socks.

So I decked my Sherlock Holmes hat and monocle, and I went to solve the mystery of the missing socks. It was now sunset and I was exhausted with no clue. Tired, I went to bed - it was a few hours later, I think when I heard the scraping of little feet, with a twitch, my eyes opened, and I switched on the light. Ready to give the toddler a piece of my mind.

It was not a toddler - it was my brother's pet puppy, who was now standing frozen as if he knew that he is caught red-handed with my socks in his mouth. It didn't last long though as he ran out the door with the socks. Giving him a chase was a terrible idea especially since it's 3 in the morning.

The puppy though seemed to have limitless energy as he jumped, skipped, slid - maneuvering around the furniture like an expert. This is turning out to be a workout for me. I followed him to his dog house, by now the entire house was awake and just in time to see the socks collection in his house. Everyone had a great laugh about it.

I couldn't bring myself to scold the puppy, with his twinkling eyes he looked at me and then down on the floor waiting - how cute he was feeling guilty. Instead of a scolding, I gave him a hug and watched how for the entire time I stayed there he followed me around like a baby chick wanting to be showered with love.

Needless to say, I will now keep my socks in a lock whenever I stay over. Were you happy to have such a mischievous pet?