I can only imagine the feelings I’ll experience when Tony and I bring home a child. When we drove down to Southern Iowa – basically Nebraska – to get our little guy I was nervous, anxious, excited, etc, there are too many emotions to list. There are a few moments of this trip that I NEVER want to forget…
June 25, 2013:
We had been in the car for almost four hours; Tony hasn’t spoken to me for a while. I had kept a secret from him all day and it finally bubbled over the edge and exploded in my Corolla.
Earlier this morning I had met with my oncologist who monitors blood levels in between my scans at the Mayo Clinic. She had delivered a somewhat negative report. Most of my levels were extremely low; red blood cell count, hemoglobin, white blood cell count, and my absolute neutrophil count. The absolute neutrophil count is what alarmed my doctor – mine was hanging around a 1.2. The range for a normal, healthy individual is between 2 -8, when it dips below 1.5, there could be big problems; these little guys help fight off infection, so when they’re low, infections are more susceptible. I had told my doctor our plans when Tony got home from work: drive down to Iowa, stay in a hotel, pick out our puppy at 7 AM, and drive home, and she was not amused. She said she WOULD NOT pick up my puppy until my levels were back to normal, “puppies can carry all sorts of bacteria & we can’t take any chances.” And fortunately for me, my mom was also at this appointment and heard these directions, as well, {sarcasm alert}. As we left the meeting my mom said, “talk this over with Tony and schedule a new time to pick up the puppy.”
Yeah right.
When Tony got home, I had a cooler packed with snacks and drinks, our overnight bags ready to go, and our puppy forms tucked in my purse. We were going & I wasn’t saying a word.
…..& about three hours into our trip, my mom texted me and asked when the new date was to get the puppy. I told her we were on the road and she called Tony’s cellphone. Thanks, Mom.
Tony doesn’t get mad often, but he was furious with me. He yelled, then scolded, [yes, scolded], rolled his window down, [he was battling a bad cold and felt horrible being so close to me in a car with circulating, used air], and then shut down.
I broke the silence by saying we were getting this puppy tomorrow & I wouldn’t hold him or let him lick me in any way until it was safe. He softened & we were good. [Our fights never last long]. We finished out the ride playing Trivia games from my cell phone.
June 26th, 2013:
I woke with excitement stirring in my belly. Today was the day.
We followed the directions given by the breeder, made a couple of turns down dirt roads, and were minutes away from seeing him.
We pulled up to a farmhouse, with four little, brown balls jumping around in the dirt. Words literally can’t describe the feeling that took over me. They were the tiniest, cutest little things I had ever seen – each weighing in at about 4 lbs, with teeth like needles, and eyes as blue as ever. We opened the car doors and Mama Vizsla greeted us with kisses and a wagging tongue. I got a couple of dirty looks from Tony when I bent down and let her give him a lick.
And instantly, as we took a couple of steps further out of the car, we were greeted with the puppies at our toes.
The puppies spent seconds, literally seconds, nipping at our ankles, and then moved on to bigger and better things: rocks, bugs, watching birds, etc…
Tony looked at me and said, “pick the one you want, Kaylee.”
I glanced down at the fur-balls & realized there was one little boy who didn’t move on to something more interesting. He was sitting at my feet, looking up at my smile with interest.
I bent down and patted his head, as I did this, he leaned into my touch. I moved past his head and massaged behind his shoulders, all the while, never losing his stare.
I picked him up into my arm & his little nose moved slowly near my face. As it moved closer, I thought about my promise to Tony but didn’t act on it by moving away. His nose crept closer. I could feel his whiskers on my cheeks. I could smell his sweet puppy smell. I felt two wet, soft licks on my lips. We looked at each & I knew he was going to complete our family. He melted a piece of my heart; my mind; my soul. He made the word cancer disappear.
He was my Ace.
