Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

As many of you know, we love to make travel to-do lists for ourselves and we have traveled extensively in our quest to check places off of said lists.

Our completed lists have included visiting all fifty states, staying at every Disney World and Disneyland resort hotel, seeing a game in all 30 NHL arenas, and seeing a game in all 30 MLB stadiums.

We finished the baseball stadiums list back in 2005, with a San Francisco Giants game being the 30th team.

Technically, though, it was our 31st stadium, because we saw a game in both the old and new stadiums in Milwaukee when we were living in Illinois.

There was no rhyme or reason to the fact that our 30th team was San Francisco, unlike when we visited all of the the hockey arenas and purposely saved Toronto (hosting Montreal, no less!) for our #30.  For those of you wondering, our beloved Maple Leafs won (apologies to my Canadiens-loving brother)!  We did the NHL arenas from 2008-2010, in only two-and-a-half seasons.  One thing is certain:  tickets to baseball games are much more affordable than tickets to hockey games!

It’s now 2013, and the baseball team closest to us is the Washington Nationals.  Notice I didn’t write "home team," because our home team is the Toronto Blue Jays.  Nonetheless, both the Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles are close enough that going to games is relatively easy.

So why is it that it took until August 14, 2013 for us to see a game in the new Nationals stadium that opened at the beginning of the 2008 baseball season?!?

Maybe it’s because we are devoted fans of the American League.  Maybe it’s because we love Camden Yards so much that we don’t want another stadium in the area competing for our affection.  Maybe we’ve just been really busy (see previous comment about 30 hockey areas in two-and-a-half seasons!).  All three are distinct possibilities.

Regardless, we finally made it to Nationals Park.  And it was fantastic.

However, before I discuss the game, I have to mention where we went for dinner because I cannot say enough good things about it:  Gordon Biersch.  There are two locations in DC, as well as many around the country.  It is a brewery and a restaurant, and they make the best thing I have ever eaten.  No joke. EVER.  It is called the Artisanal Grilled Cheese sandwich and it is Gruyere cheese and avocado mayo on sourdough bread.  (The menu description also includes bacon, but being a vegetarian, I obviously order it without the bacon.)  It comes with the restaurant's signature garlic fries, and I am telling you:  it is the best meal I have ever had.  It is the only thing I order whenever we go there - lunch, dinner, whenever!  I can't speak to anything else on the menu - although everyone I know who has eaten there has enjoyed their meal immensely - but if you are at all a fan of grilled cheese sandwiches, you must try this one.  You will not be disappointed!

That's enough about the food...now on to the game!

The stadium is just beautiful, and having visited all the MLB cities, that is saying something because we have certainly seen our share of updated and impressive structures, as well as old, run-down parks (although I won't mention any names).  The fans were also great - another area where I feel a small sense of expertise because between all of the baseball and hockey games across the country, we have dealt with a lot of fans - sometimes when we were cheering for the home team and sometimes when we were cheering for the visiting team - and believe me, we have our opinions about rude fan behavior in certain venues.

The fans at the Nationals game really were outstanding - very respectful during the national anthem, which should be expected, but is not the case at all sporting events.  Yelling and talking during the anthem are HUGE pet peeves of mine because of our backgrounds, with this amazing country welcoming us as its citizens; any type of disrespect during the anthem is absolutely inexcusable in my opinion.  The reverence paid by the fans in the stadium during the singing of the anthem was just wonderful.

As you can see from this photo, our seats were fabulous and the game itself was pretty exciting, with the Nationals beating the Giants 6-5.  The weather was also unbelievable:  sunny and 79 degrees with a slight breeze.  Heaven!  And so unusual for this area in mid-August!  I wish the entire summer had weather like this!

Perhaps the thing we were most looking forward to was the seventh inning stretch, because some of the stadiums around the league have awesome, unique traditions and we love being part of them - Toronto ("OK, Blue Jays"), Houston ("Deep in the Heart of Texas"), and St. Louis ("Meet Me in St. Louis") immediately come to mind.  After "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," the a-ha song "Take on Me" was played and everyone in the stadium sang along.  I am not sure if this was a one-time deal or if this is something they do at every home game, but it was really entertaining.

So even though it took us so long to get to our first game there, we will definitely be back to Nationals Park!  The stadium, the fans, and the team all made it an experience we won't soon forget.

Eight more new stadiums to go!

Happy Tails to you!

WDW Birthday Trip #2

Fast forward a few weeks and we were off to WDW once again!  Let me explain that we had originally planned to go from Saturday the 25^th through Wednesday the 29^th and stay at Port Orleans French Quarter.  However, a couple of weeks before our trip, Disney announced that the Magic Kingdom would be open for 24 hours on May 24^th, beginning at 6 am, and we quickly realized that we could not pass up such an opportunity.  We changed some things around, but when we called to adjust the hotel dates, they did not have any availability at Port Orleans French Quarter for the 23^rd or 24^th.  Luckily, we were able to book Pop Century for those two nights, and then we had three nights at Port Orleans French Quarter.

This time we drove, since we were going for more than three days.  As I have shared before, I love driving trips – C drives and I sleep, waking in a confused stupor only when he taps my arm because he needs something.  I am not the most coherent person when I am woken up unexpectedly, and driving trips are no exception.  I usually fumble around to get him water or soda, mumble something at him about our current location and how much time until we arrive (I am not unlike a child in this regard), and then fall right back asleep.  I am not sure anyone else would not only tolerate, but find humor in my lunacy.

We arrived at about 3:30 pm and checked into Pop Century.  There was no arm-twisting needed when the topic of birthday buttons arose…I had been waiting for one since WDW introduced the buttons years ago.  She even gave C an “I’m Celebrating” button on which she wrote “L’s birthday!”, but this was not something C wore over the course of the weekend, despite my strong encouragement that he do so.  I, on the other hand, went everywhere with my birthday button on display.

Our room was in the '50's section of the resort and it was perfect for us!

After settling into our room and getting a quick bite to eat at the food court, we headed to MK for the evening.  We did our favorite attractions (TTA, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Mickey’s Philharmagic, along with a few others), grabbed a LeFou’s Brew and a Nutella waffle, watched the fireworks, and finally headed back to our room.  We planned on sleeping in the next morning because we had been up since about 2 am and were exhausted from drive (and by “we,” I mean C, since I had gotten quite a bit of sleep in the car!).

The famous Nutella waffle

LeFou's Brew

We typically sleep in until about noon and roll into the parks around 2 pm.  I don’t advise this strategy for anyone who doesn't visit frequently, because you really want to get the most bang for your buck with your park tickets.  However, we have never been, nor will we ever be, morning people – at WDW or otherwise – so this is what we do, and we stay super late, often being among the last few people to trickle out of the parks.  Our annual passes have allowed us to visit frequently, so we don’t ever feel like we are wasting money or valuable park time by sleeping in.  But as I said, this is likely not the best approach for most people.  The only downside to what we do is that it is almost always guaranteed we will miss breakfast hours everywhere!  We usually only get to eat breakfast if we make a dining reservation that forces us to get up.  And we don’t do that very often because again, we are not morning people.

Friday arrived, and despite the excitement of MK being open for 24 hours, we had no intention of arriving before 6 pm.  We figured we would spend the whole night in the park until 6 am Saturday morning.  So Friday was great, because we were able to enjoy a relaxing lunch, visit a few of our favorite resorts, and take a swim before heading over to MK to arrive at 6 pm.

my Magic Kingdom shoes

Well…although we anticipated a large crowd, given the 24-hour opening and the fact that it was Friday of Memorial Day weekend, we were truly not prepared for just how insane it was.  Wall-to-wall people.  And we have been there during busy holiday times before – on Valentine’s  Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Independence Day, Christmas, and New Year’s...we even got married at WDW on New Year’s Eve!  And we cannot recall a time when MK was so crowded.

Despite the crowds, we decided to stick with our plan.  We had some dinner, and planned out the evening, but were pretty discouraged when we consulted the wait times (for example, Splash Mountain had a wait time of 120 minutes!). We decided to do what we could, enjoy the atmosphere, and hope that the crowd would thin out.  This involved a lot of snacking and we tried some things that were new to us (we are very much creatures of habit); our favorites were a Sulley caramel apple and a Mike cake pop, which we ate while people watching from Main Street train station.  People watching is a seriously underrated activity and provided us with a good deal of entertainment.

Sulley and Mike

I am not ashamed to say that we only lasted until 1:30 am.  The crowds were just too much for us and we decided to admit defeat.  We still had a great time, but wasn’t as special as the times when we have had entire attractions all to ourselves.  So we’re glad we experienced it, but would not go again if they have a 24-hour event.  On Saturday morning, we had to check out of Pop Century and check in to Port Orleans French Quarter.  You know what that means…another birthday button!  Yay!

We spent the afternoon shopping at Downtown Disney and then had a nap because we knew we had another late night ahead of us.  We headed over to Boardwalk, grabbed a slice of pizza and two awesome cupcakes for dinner, and made our way to Jellyrolls.  This is easily one of our very favorite things about WDW, and given its size and all it has to offer, that is really saying something.  Those of you who know us well may recall that we met in music class and were in the band together in high school (C – saxophone, L – French horn), so it should come as no surprise that we love music.  ALL kinds.  So spending an evening enjoying amazing dueling pianists is just about our idea of a perfect night.

As usual, it was fabulous.  The music, the atmosphere, the pianists…but perhaps the best part of this particular evening was the other guests.  There was an older couple who I noticed right away because they seemed a little out of place.  I watched as he pulled out her chair for her, made sure she was comfortable, went up to the bar, and returned with two drinks.  It was very sweet to watch how attentive he was and how much they clearly loved one another.  I was not the only one to take note of this; one of the pianists noticed their anniversary button and asked them how many years they had been married.  The gentleman told him they were celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary.  Of course the entire bar erupted in applause for them and they seemed overwhelmed by all the fuss.  The pianists called them up on stage and they laughed and danced together and kissed in front of the rowdy crowd.  It really was one of the sweetest things I have ever witnessed and I was so moved by their example that I asked our waitress if they had a tab that we could take care of for them, but she informed us that they had not opened a tab because they were only drinking Coke.  Could I love this couple any more?!?  I asked the waitress to please put the couple’s next round on our tab, which she did about 30 minutes later.  When she told them the bill was taken care of, they asked her who had covered it and she directed them to our table.  They came over to our table to thank us and chatted with us for a little while, doling out sound marital advice: never take anything for granted, remember that every day you have together is a gift, and that the husband should always give credit to his wife for all of the good things in their life.  Given their success, clearly this man knows what he is talking about!   He also talked about the importance of having goals and working to realize them, and told us that their goal was to make it to their 70^th anniversary!  They asked how long we’ve been married, and although it pales in comparison to their number, they were so gracious and congratulatory when I told them that it would be 19 years in December.  They were such a fantastic couple.

Sunday brought more relaxing, swimming, wandering, and cupcake eating before we went to MK.  We were celebrating my birthday dinner that evening, a few hours before my actual birthday because we couldn't get a reservation on the 27^th, which did not surprise us because it was Memorial Day.  So we went to Tony’s Town Square Restaurant (yes, we also had C’s birthday dinner here earlier in the month – we love this restaurant!).  The food was as wonderful as always, and I was surprised when a birthday cake, complete with candles upon which to make a wish, was delivered to the table (I told you C was a planner!).  It was a chocolate cake covered in Mickey confetti, and not only was it adorable to look at, but the cake itself was phenomenal.

The park was much less crowded than it had been on Friday, so we were able to ride a ton of things.  I was thrilled to be at MK when it officially turned to my birthday, and it was the night for Extra Magic Hours, so non-resort guests cleared out and the park was even less crowded for our last few hours!  We stayed for the Kiss Goodnight on the castle before heading back to our room.

My birthday itself was awesome.  Craig got up before me and decorated the room with shiny streamers and banners, so when I woke up, I was completely taken by surprise.  Well, I think it was C.  Could have just been Disney Magic at work.  So sweet!

We slept in and relaxed during the day, and then, you guessed it, went to MK.  Treats of the day included beignets and a handmade ice cream sandwich, along with cupcakes, a Nutella waffle, a Dole Whip, and “our” chairs provided a perfect spot to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade.  

The Celebrate the Magic show is incredible.  That's all I can say about it.  Below are two of the scenes from two of my very favorite movies - Up and Tangled.  So beautiful.

I felt so fortunate to spend the end of my birthday at MK as well as its beginning – like bookends on a perfect day.  Most people left at park closing, although a small number stayed for the Kiss Goodnight (I was so excited to be able to say I saw it twice on my birthday!!!) before exiting the park.  This night, we were truly the last people anywhere except for a few who were taking photos on Main Street.  We stood at the castle together for what seemed like both an eternity and also not nearly long enough and soaked in as much of the magic as we could.  The five security guards near us did not once rush us or admonish us for not leaving; they let as have as much time as we wanted.  Amazing.

 Unfortunately, we had to leave for home in the morning.  Bittersweet is the only fitting adjective…we were anxious to get home to see the girls, but not at all happy about having to leave WDW.  We also realized this was the first trip we have taken where MK was the only park we went to!  Despite knowing that we will be back again soon, we were still sad to leave.  The real world is much less fun!

Happy Tails to you!

WDW Birthday Trip #1

Both C and I have May birthdays, and while we have been there twice before to celebrate his birthday, I have never been there to celebrate mine (although I did spend my 25^th birthday in Disneyland, which was awesome!).  Since mine is always around Memorial Day, I have never been able to take time off before or after the holiday weekend.  We decided to take advantage of the fact that I am not teaching this year, and planned a trip for the end of May.

What C did not know was that I was secretly planning a trip for his birthday, which is at the beginning of May.  I was forced to reveal that surprise a few days early because of a scare with Gunni (this is chronicled in another post), but it was nonetheless a surprise.  I was so pleased with myself because those of you who know us understand that C is the trip planner and I just tag along for the adventure.  So the responsibility of planning a trip that he knew nothing about was daunting.  Hotel, car rental, dining reservations…I was worried he would see an email, get an alert on his phone, or find something in the mail if he got to it before I did (which was the case at least three days a week because of my class schedule).  I couldn’t believe I actually pulled it off!  As is customary, my fabulous mom took on the role of fairy dogmother and happily tended to our herd while we were away.

We flew down to Florida on C’s birthday, which happened to be a Friday.  We had to get up extremely early because our flight was out of BWI at 6 am.  The excitement and anticipation of the trip did not make it too difficult to rise at such a crazy hour – even for me, and those of you who know me understand that every morning I resemble a hibernating bear emerging from its den in the spring.  The flight was quick, we rented our car and drove over to WDW, and were all checked in by 11 am.  Much to his dismay, I forced C to get a birthday button and made him wear it for the rest of the day, resulting in countless happy birthday wishes from strangers!  We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn, and had a wonderful weekend.  The fun was punctuated by spurts of homework, but rest assured that we had an amazing time.

These are just some of the beautiful rugs throughout the resort.

Friday’s birthday lunch was at Beaches and Cream, over at the Beach Club Resort, and just a short walk from our hotel room.  Lunch was so delicious, and this is where you can find the best milkshakes anywhere in WDW, in our opinion.  Since we had been up for so long, we decided to take a short nap in the afternoon.  While C was sleeping, I slipped away to the Boardwalk Bakery to get cupcakes.  These are not your everyday cupcakes.  Neither of us really even care for cupcakes that much.  But these cupcakes?  Indescribably good.

Oreo and Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes...yum.

We headed over to the Magic Kingdom around 5 pm.  We had C’s birthday dinner at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant, which is one of our very favorite places to eat.  We love the atmosphere, the location, the food…you get the idea.  Although Craig tried to hide his birthday button, the waiter took note of it and brought Craig a delicious sundae with a candle on it – what an unexpected and delightful surprise!  We spent the remainder of the evening in MK and even though it rained for about 45 minutes, we were extremely happy because the weather drove most people out of the park, leaving us to enjoy the attractions without much company.  We spotted a rainbow over Space Mountain as we were riding TTA, and then could appreciate its grandeur over the TTA track after we disembarked.

We noticed after the fact that it was actually a double rainbow over Space Mountain!

We watched the “Celebrate the Magic” castle show and the “Wishes” fireworks from Main Street, and the Main Street Electrical Parade from “our” two rocking chairs (see my post from March about our Spring Break trip).  We finished off the night with a Nutella waffle and the Kiss Goodnight light show on the castle.  I think it is safe to say that C had a great birthday.

We really do feel like these seats belong to us!

The next morning we had a late breakfast at the Kona Café at the Polynesian Resort, and as always, the Tonga Toast was superb.  I tried to choose some of C’s favorite places when I was making dining reservations for his birthday weekend, and this is probably our favorite breakfast food in WDW.  After returning to the Boardwalk Inn, we walked over to Epcot for the afternoon before having dinner at Via Napoli in the Italy pavilion.  Sorry to sound like a broken record, but again, this is one of our favorites.

The beautiful Spaceship Earth

Later in the evening, we wandered back to our hotel to enjoy the Boardwalk and so we could spend some time on the homework we had both been neglecting up to that point.  Given that we each had finals on the horizon, we decided to enjoy our beautiful hotel room, watch hockey on TV, and do homework.  That might not sound like a fun evening to some people, but remember, folks – we were in WDW!  We could have done absolutely nothing and we would have loved every minute of it.  Also, we are nerds.  J

Sunday morning, we packed and checked out of our hotel, and headed over to Wilderness Lodge for a late breakfast at Whispering Canyon Café.  This is where you can get the banana bread french toast I raved about back in March, and it was as tasty as I remembered it!  After breakfast, we went to Downtown Disney for some shopping and then went to DHS for a few hours – although our main purpose was to buy some carrot cake cookies to take home with us!

Our final stop before heading to the airport has become somewhat of a tradition for us, and that is to go to Port Orleans French Quarter for beignets.  A few years ago, we went to WDW once a month for an entire year (some of you are very familiar with our infamous, overly-ambitious travel checklists), and it was during these monthly trips that the last-stop-for-beignets tradition was established.  We are usually a little melancholy at this point because the trip is coming to an end, but we knew we would be back in less than three weeks!  We flew back to BWI on a very late flight and arrived home around 1:30 am.  Despite the exhaustion, I declared the trip a smashing success and a fitting way to celebrate C’s birthday!

Beignets...so delicious!

Happy Tails to you!

Our Dachshunds - Part 4

Welcome, Duchess!

Getting over Molly’s passing was difficult – neither Thanksgiving nor Christmas were particularly happy times for us.  We always had the sense that she was missing – both literally and figuratively.  But 2011 rolled around and things got better each day.  Our four dogs were doing well and before we knew it, summer was upon us.

One day in July, I made a foolish mistake.  I looked at the DRNA website and browsed through the available Dachshunds.  I honestly don’t know why I do this to myself – I end up wanting to adopt them all as I cry while reading their stories and feel hateful toward the humans who caused them suffering.  I visit the site fairly frequently because I like to read the success stories and see the photos with “Adopted!” written on them.  It makes me happy to think there are good and kind people in the world who are willing to give needy little dogs a chance at a loving home and devoted family.

This time, it was different.  I found Duchess.  And I don’t know exactly what it was about her, but I was hooked.  Some people might say that it was her name, given my love of all things royal (ask anyone who has ever set foot in my classroom) and given our last name, but it really was her sweet little face.  She was a black-and-tan miniature Dachshund, and she was already 15 years old.  That sounded exactly like Molly, except Duchess looked nowhere near her age.  I emailed her foster mom to arrange a meeting, and C and I drove four hours on a Saturday through miserable heat and traffic to meet her.  Whether or not you believe in love at first sight, we were smitten.  We spent about an hour with her, and knew we wanted her to be ours.  We had plans to go out of town for two weeks, so we arranged to pick her up and bring her home once we returned from our trip.  We drove the four hours home asking ourselves if were we crazy for doing this, but kept coming back to the idea that although we can’t save every dog, we could save this one dog.

On August 13, 2011, we made that long drive again and adopted Duchess.  On the way home, I sat beside her in the back seat and she happily snuggled right into a dog bed and fell asleep.  We should have known then what a low-maintenance dog she would be!  We got home that night and she was immediately accepted into the herd.  Since that day, she has been content to snooze and eat and do not much else!  She had truly been a delight – she rarely barks, except when breakfast or dinner is being prepared, and that is really just out of excitement that she is about to eat!  She is the one dog that does not sleep in our bed at night; she prefers her own little dog bed right beside me on the floor.

Duchess is now 17, and we cannot imagine our life without her.  As I wrote about back in February, we had a bad scare with a spider bite, but she came through that with flying colors and other than a few little bald spots on her hind leg, you would never know anything had ever happened to her.  The fur that did regrow in that area is white, which is in stark contrast to her shiny black fur, and it is a good reminder of how tough she is to have survived such an ordeal.

So you are all caught up now!  If you’ve managed to stick with me through all four parts of the story, thank you so much!  No doubt there will be future tales to tell about our little canines, and I haven’t even introduced you to Max yet!  Max is my brother’s dog, who is part Pitbull and part Dutch Shepherd, and much sweeter and better behaved than our five miniature Dachshunds!

Happy Tails to you!

Our Dachshunds - Part 3

Goodbye, Marvelous Molly...

So for the latter part of 2009 and much of 2010, we were a five-dog household.  Things were going pretty smoothly, with one exception:  Molly did not like Chelsea.  At all.  She attacked her on a few different occasions, and we eventually took to separating the two of them at all times (if one was on the couch, the other was on the floor, they never ate near one another, etc.).  We never quite figured out why this was the case – Chelsea was indifferent to Molly, but for some reason, Molly felt threatened by Chelsea.  We finally decided that because Molly had clearly been the alpha dog in her lifelong relationship with Gunni, she did not know what to do when faced with another alpha…Chelsea had been an only dog for a decade and was used to ruling the roost!  Since Molly was completely deaf and almost entirely blind, it was not too difficult to keep Chelsea out of range, and we carried on like that until the fall of 2010, when Molly started to deteriorate.  She was moving quite slowly and had a lot of difficulty settling down at night; it became our routine for C to sit and hold her in his arms until she fell asleep – once that happened, she was out cold for the night.  That was such a sweet thing to witness each evening.  And it had to be him – Molly was not at all interested in me rocking her to sleep!

In mid-November, C brought her inside on a rainy Monday evening, and when she shook to get the water off of her fur, she fell over and howled in pain.  She was inconsolable and we had no idea what had happened, so we rushed her to the vet and our beloved Dr. T. examined her and put her on some anti-seizure medication.  We took her home monitored her closely; my mom came over each day sit with her while I was at school.  She seemed to be responding to the medication quite well and had a good week, so when we took her back for a check up the following Monday, Dr. T. looked her over and told us to keep doing what we had been doing and said that she was surprised at how well Molly appeared.  We told my mom we were in the clear and that she didn’t need to keep spending ten hours a day watching our dogs (what on earth would we ever do without my mom?!?).

The next day was Tuesday, November 23.  I went about my day as usual, and came home right after school because I didn’t want the dogs to be alone for any longer than absolutely necessary.  Things seemed fine for about the first half hour, and then right in front of me, Molly had a terrifying seizure.  It was the most horrific thing I have ever witnessed.  She was screaming in pain and her body was contorting into impossible positions.  And I was helpless.  The other dogs completely freaked out, running around her and barking and whimpering and it was all I could do to get them away from her.  The seizure probably lasted for 60 or 70 seconds, but it felt like a million times that.  Once it stopped, I picked her up and held her in a blanket while I called C, my mom, and Dr. T., in that order.  C said he would leave work immediately and meet me at the vet and my mom would come over to sit with the other dogs.

I put Molly in the car, crying hysterically, certain I would not be returning home with her.  When we got to the vet, C was waiting for us, and of course, Molly was thrilled to see him and was acting perfectly fine – so I seemed like a lunatic who had overreacted!  We were shown to an exam room immediately, and Dr. T. took her from us to run some tests.  When she returned, we knew it was not good news.  The difference in Molly from less than 24 hours earlier, when Dr. T. had last seen her, was evident.  She told us that we could take her home, but that that the chances were very high for Molly to have another violent seizure again, one that would likely take her life.  She was fifteen-and-a-half years old and we just could not see risking that kind of trauma for her.  Dr. T. told us there was bleeding in Molly's brain and that she had likely been experiencing extensive pain while the pressure was building. She also told us that it was just a matter of time before something awful happened.  We selfishly wanted to bring her home because we were not ready to part with her, but we knew we would never “be ready” to part with her and we did not want her to suffer in any way.  So I called my mom and filled her in and she said all of the loving things one needs to hear when faced with such an ominous decision, and we told Dr. T. we could not let Molly be in pain any longer.

She brought Molly back into the room and let us have some time alone to say our goodbyes.  We cried and hugged and kissed her and told her we loved her and that we wanted her to be free and happy.  We told her that Muggsi and Holly and Murphy would be waiting for her at the Rainbow Bridge and that she would be able to see beautiful colors and hear sweet music again.  We mostly told her how much we would miss her and what a gift she had been to us for those precious fourteen months.

After about half an hour, Dr. T. peeked in the room and we nodded.  Having experienced this before with Muggsi and Murphy, I was prepared to put Molly up on the table and stand beside it.  Dr. T., being the most incredible and compassionate vet on the planet, had another plan.  On the bench in the room, I sat holding Molly, C had his arms around me and his hands on Molly, and Dr. T. knelt on the floor so she was face-to-face with Molly.  Yes, that’s right.  She knelt on the floor so we could hold out little dog in our arms.  As Molly passed from this life on to her next great adventure, Dr. T. put her head on Molly and cried, too.  She then hugged us told us how brave we were to allow our love for Molly to guide our decision.  As she took Molly from the room, Craig and I were in awe of how someone who does this everyday could still be moved by the loss of a little creature.  The fact that she recognized what Molly meant to us and was so attentive to us, so gracious, so loving is why we drive more miles than necessary whenever one of our dogs needs care.  She is an amazing human being and the best vet we would possible ask for.  We will never, ever forget the kindness she showed us that day.

We each had our own car, so we had to drive home separately, which was trying.  Entering the house without Molly, with the other four dogs looking up at us expectantly, was difficult.  But the most awful thing was picking up Gunni and realizing she was now an orphan.  She had spent her entire thirteen-and-a-half years with her mother, and now she was alone.  It broke my heart to think about this, and Gunni spent the next few weeks wandering around and moaning for Molly before accepting in her own way that Molly wasn’t coming home.

The next day, Wednesday, was a half-day at school; the students were being released early because it was the day before Thanksgiving.  I did not want to go to school that day – I had cried most of the night and was exhausted.  However, I told myself that it was a short day and that I could survive it.  I was doing a pretty decent job of burying my feelings and operating on autopilot, but about 20 minutes into the day, one of my students asked if I was all right because I was being really quiet (apparently they are used to me bossing them around!).  This was at the point in the day when my homeroom students went into my partner’s classroom, and her homeroom students came to me, so there were 50+ kids in motion, coming and going and getting their things from one room to the other.  I told this student that yes, I was OK, but as soon as I said it, I started crying.  Sobbing.  Choking on the words that Molly had passed away the night before.  The students knew all of my dogs from the pictures around the room of them and from the stories I would share about them.  Without any type of direction at all, these sixth grade students formed a very long single-file line to each give me a hug and say something sweet and comforting.  Even the boys, who at that age, are often too cool for that sort of mushy stuff.

I loved (I do not like to use the past tense, but I am not currently teaching) being a teacher.  Didn’t always love the bureaucratic nonsense, but I loved being a teacher.  And I loved my kids.  Every single one of them, as difficult as they could be at times.  But I cannot think of a time when I loved my students more than when THEY took care of ME on that very sad Wednesday morning.  As I write this, I can picture their faces and the kind words they spoke to me.  How fortunate I am to have been their teacher.

The next (and final) installment in the "Our Dachshunds" series will be the story of Duchess.  Stay tuned!

Happy Tails to you!