Day 453

Today, we planned on heading up to the cottage for a "work day" of sorts. Before we can hang pictures and decorate, there is painting to be done. However, about 12:30 in the morning, our plans changed.

Being a light sleeper, I could feel the presence of SOMETHING up close to my slumbering eyes. Slowly prying them open, I was greeted by a huge Golden head and a desperate doggy whisper. (Ranger has such a kind spirit, he knows that he shouldn't bark in the middle of the night.) I asked him if he needed to go outside and he immediately ran to the bedroom door.

Down the stairs, followed by a quick gallop to the back door, Ranger waited for me to catch up! By the time I arrived to open the door, he was looking frantic! I let him out and he disappeared into the night through the doggy door.

This little ritual was repeated all night every two hours or so. Poor baby!!! This is not an extremely rare occurrence with Goldens...they eat just about everything that might fit in their mouths. Since this wasn't our first rodeo, we greeted the morning by boiling chicken and rice! Ranger was delighted and gobbled it up while his siblings got a small sample in their own doggy bowl. Lilly, in particular, knew what Ranger was served and ordered the same thing off the menu!

We couldn't leave our distressed boy at home, so we accepted Plan B...go up tomorrow if he is better.

There have been so many times in my life when Plan A didn't work. It is extremely hard for me to redirect when my momentum is in full force in one direction. It has been a work in progress for me to reign my inability to shift plans, but I am getting better at accepting a change in course.

It helps to be married to a retired air traffic controller who spent well over 30 years changing course. With 20 or 25 airplanes in his sector, there was a constant need to go from Plan A to Plans B, C and beyond. He never had a close call in all the years he "talked to airplanes" and that same calming presence guides me to accept a new plan when necessary!

So, under the watchful eye of Mama, Ranger will enjoy his chicken and rice until all is well. Painting walls will wait. For me, even though plans change, loved ones always come first in the decision-making process. I would "Adapt and Overcome" (a nod to my actor son) all the way to Plan Z for any family member...and that includes the four-legged variety!