Day 82

8/3/22

Anticipation! Sometimes, the excitement people experience waiting for an event to happen surpasses the actual experience itself.

Birthdays, holidays, vacations and other special dreams can take on a life of their own even before the big day arrives. I absolutely love to shop for birthdays and holidays, plan getaways and dream up exciting lists for events down the road. I admit that part of the fun is in the planning.

Tonight was not one of those times when the actual event does not measure up to our excited expectations. My son, Jimmy, came home for the week to unwind and spend some quality time with family, friends and GOLDENS!!!

I cried at the airport when we picked him up. I welled up numerous times at dinner, watching him hug his amazing twin and seeing the reaction of the dogs when they realized he was home.

He waited in the backyard as we let Lilly out the doggy door. This girl has always had such a bond with Jimmy and she is HIS dog. She ran to the gate to greet Katie, Asher, Mac and myself and then heard him calling her softly from behind. She ran to him, put her front paws up to hug him and then simply fell on him crying. We all had tears in our eyes.

Ranger was next. It takes that big boy a little bit longer to assess any situation, so he ran to the gate, headed back towards Lilly and Jimmy, back to the gate and then...realization stuck! THIS WAS HIS BOY! He turned and ran into Jimmy's arms, knocking his poor sister aside, and began to cry as well.

Now for Gus! Our puppy has spent very little time with Jimmy as he has only been home for holidays this past year. We let him through the doggy door and he went crazy...even more so than usual! He rolled over, jumped on Jimmy and cried and whimpered. He remembered.

Our sweet goldens live to love and they did just that this evening. The picture of Lilly was from this morning when I mentioned that her boy was coming home tonight. She perked up a bit, but was simply living in the moment. She visited at Walker, took a couple of jaunts around the block, played, ate and slept during this day. When she saw Jimmy, she embraced that moment with all the love and excitement a golden can muster.

The goldens live in the moment and their emotions and reactions are directly involved with what they are experiencing. I love to plan and anticipate, but I will try to focus on the event at hand. I believe that dogs have the right priorities: Live for the moment, love whenever you can and let others know that they count. Golden Rules to live by!