“An ti ci pAY A tion…it’s making me wait….”

What?! Did you know that those aren’t the actual lyrics of the chorus in Carly Simon’s song? I did not! The actual chorus is “Anticipation is keeping me late…is keeping me waiting…”

Well, that’s lame if you ask me. My version is better. I’ve been singing along to it since…1971!

“It’s making me wait….making me WAY A A A A-it-ing….”

That was certainly what I was humming as I made my theme card this week for my 52 Cards Project. Because it’s been a week—no, months, no — over a year—of anticipation for a very big event. Our eldest daughter Abby and her fiance, Peter, are getting married! This weekend.

You might be wondering why I chose a drooling black Labrador for this card. Well, there’s a story behind that.

You see, long ago…before Abby was born, I met a guy named Dennis who had a big black Lab named Cassidy. Cassidy T. Dog. And before we knew it, the three of us (plus my cat, Ricky) lived under one roof…and after a while that guy and I got married, and Cassidy T. Dog was with us when our firstborn came into our lives too.

So yes, maybe this week my heart is remembering those early days with my daughter too. But what was going through my mind for this card is that Cassidy T. was a Labrador and if you know this breed you probably know that they only love four things: A ball (stick or frisbee), water (for swimming), their loved ones (all the people in their lives), and food.

Oh do Labs love food. And that is one of the things we all remember about Cassidy. When we were eating dinner, Cassidy would sit in one place, stare at us and our food—and she’d drool.

Slowly, she’d let her saliva spill out of her mouth and hang there. She didn’t move. She didn’t whine. She just let the drip stretch toward the ground. The longer she waited, the longer her drool grew with anticipation. Longer…and longer…until—

Well, you know, we gave in.

She got the leftovers and the saliva would disappear.

Anyway, I thought a Lab drooling in anticipation captures something about how I feel—“An ti ci pAY A tion” for sure.

But also, the last lines of Simon’s song are pretty apropos too:

”…I'm no prophet, I don't know nature's way
So I'll try to see into your eyes right now
And stay right here, 'cause these are the good old days.

These are the good old days…”