You are really in the doghouse by Brian

One of the most vivid memories of Dorothy I have is one that I shared at her 80th birthday party. I wanted to share it again. I'll add more later.

It was probably 1985. My dad's brother, Jeff, his wife, Denise, and their new baby, Lauren, were staying with us at the time. Lauren and I had accompanied Dorothy to the grocery store in Millburn. We often liked to roam the store, travel up and down the aisles, as she shopped. After some time, Lauren and I had trouble finding her in the store. We looked for what seemed like 15 minutes, going up and down every single aisle. She was nowhere to be found! The checkout counters were empty. Stumped, we didn't really know what to do. We actually thought that Dorothy had left without us. Calmly, we left the store, and just walked home. We didn't live very far.

Once home, Aunt Denise asked us where Dorothy was. When we explained that she had left us at the grocery store, and we walked home, she acted surprised. She made us repeat our moves a few times, and asked, "Are you sure she knows where you are?" Just then, Dorothy busts into the house -- terrified. She sees Lauren and me sitting in the living room with Denise, and gasps, "Ugh, you kids are really in the doghouse!" and stormed into the kitchen. This really freaked me out, because Denise looked mad, Dorothy sure sounded mad, and I had NO IDEA what being in the doghouse meant.

As a parent now, I can certainly imagine the hundreds of heart attacks Dorothy had had in the 45 minutes from last seeing us. I don't think I ever apologized for it. I hope you can forgive me now, Grandma. xoxo