For a while, it helped to
stay busy. We kept the calendar full of activity to keep some excitement alive
in our life. Mike and I have always loved being involved in missions, as a
pre-engaged, engaged, and married couple, so we eagerly signed up as a family
to serve on the next church mission trip in California. We used the money we’d
poured into savings for our adoption travels as a way to self-fund our
endeavor.
Less
than four weeks after coming home from the East coast, we found ourselves
flying out to San Francisco on the West coast. Not only did we help a new
church expand its ministry, but we made new friends from our own church and
tasted a little bit of California culture. Exactly what we needed.
With our travels wrapped up
and no new trips on the horizon, we knew we could use a big change at home.
David lacked a companion now more than ever since his “siblings” didn’t come home.
Being an only child never bothered him before, but this new reality offered a
screaming reminder that we had no sibling to offer our son. So, the search for
a dog began.
An ad for a black lab caught our eye, reminding us
of our two black labs in Indiana years earlier. David loved thinking about
names for our new puppy.
“Maybe
we could name him Rocky.” David imagined his pup growing into a big, tough dog.
“Rocky
sounds like a good name, but what about Mickey, since he’s black?” I went for
the fun names.
David
and I went back and forth between the two names, finally deciding on Mickey. We
drove out to pick Mickey up, and somehow I caved again. We came home not only
with little Mickey, but with little Minnie, as well, the runt of the pack.
Those
little pups added a lot of work and needed constant attention. Yet they filled part
of the huge holes in our hearts and lives. We needed two of them, one of each
gender, to help fill those voids the kids left behind. Now we had both a little
girl dog and a little boy dog to take care of, nurture, and love--our valentines,
home right in time for Valentine’s Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment