The best thing about Facebook is how it throws up memories for you each day. The this-day-that-year thing. Not just any memory, but those about Luci. Those are the ones I enjoy the most. Today it showed me an update from 2011. That was the year we brought Luci home. Apparently Luci at two and a half months of age was already well into being her Marley-sque self.

Luci tilts the dustbin, manages to get the discarded center portion (seeds) of a capsicum and is happily settling down when Momma sees her. Shrieeek!!! Luci knows what that means. She clamps jaws and pretends she is an angel and has nothing in her mouth. Momma is having none of it. She puts the dosathuni (piece of oil-soaked cloth for wiping the dosa tawa) on the kitchen platform, and forcefully opens Luci’s mouth pulling out the capsicum seeds. When Momma turns to throw it, Luci runs away with the dosathuni. Then they both play round-and-round-the-dining-table for a while till finally Momma manages to get it back. Luci sulks. By now the chapati is burnt. Momma sulks. (2011)

Six years have gone by and I had no memory of it. None AT ALL till Facebook showed it to me. Reading it brought it all back in a flash. In my mind’s eye I saw the pup that Luci was at the time, the naughty look in her eyes when she clamped her mouth shut, the fun we had running around the dining table, the pretense of our ‘sulking’. That made me go back and look at a few more updates about her and I thought of sharing a few of them here:

Luci: Cat! Cat!
Dog next-door: Cat? Where? Where?
Dog two houses down the lane: Receiving cat alert! Receiving cat alert.
Dog on the other end: Cat! Cat! Cat! I wanna see the cat!
Dog in the next street: Cat? Cat????! Cat??!!!!! Send it this way puhlease!
And so on and so forth. (2016)

Telephone Repair Guy is at the gate and Luci barking her head off denying him entry. She wants to know whether he has a password, an appointment, an ID card….
L&M to Luci: Get into the house!
Luci: I got this, Dad. You get back inside.
L&M: Luciii! Into the house.
Luci: Are you kidding me? There’s an intruder trying to get in. (Goes on barking)
Luci’s Mom opens the first floor door, appears on the balcony above.
Mom to Luci: Come here, Luci. Now.
Luci: Right away, Mommeee! (Comes upstairs running, mumbling about gates being left unattended)
Telephone Repair Guy: (in awe) The dog went in as soon as Madam called her! (2016)

Luci: *whine..whimper..whine..whimper*
Me: (on comp) *tap..tapt.tap..tappety tap * 
Luci: *whine..whimper..whine..whimper*
Me: *tap teppety teppety tap tap…* (pause) What??!
Luci: (looks beneath the cot) *whine.. whine.. whimper..*
Me: Oh okay!!!! *Goes, gets the broom and sweeps out whatever it is she has lost*
Luci: *silent, waiting patiently*
Me: What! My slipper!!!!!!!! Grr… NO!
Luci: *sulks* (2014)

Well, there are many more and I won’t bore you with them all. But let me go back and refresh my memory ❤

©Shail Mohan 2017