I spoke with my sister last night. I've missed her calls. During our 3 week vacation in Florida I tried my best to stay off my phone. The Jennifer 10 years ago would have tried to set rules and tell the kids, "no electronics while we are on vacation!" But who am I kidding? The trip alone was 16 hours one way. Electronics was the only source of entertainment as we made our way to Florida and followed the same straight road. As we ventured further into our destination we entered a tunnel and that was pretty cool.
Just so you know, we haven't vacationed in over 10 years. My sister was worried that we entered into a hot spot for COVID-19. But honestly, we just went from one hot spot to another. We heard on the news about the delta variant as well as the Lambda which made its way into Houston. We wore our masks. Distanced as much as possible and avoided crowded areas. We are all vaccinated except Hazel. Our days were planned as carefully as they could be.
Marty is an old friend, RN, BSN and an amazing person. In 2008 we worked at a rehab facility together. She was the one that blessed us with Nibbler. Before our trip I told her that Nibbler had passed away. She sent her condolences and showed us pictures of Nibblers dad, Eeyore, who is still alive. I mentioned to her that eventually, after our vacation we would be looking for a Shitzu.
I'm still not sure if it was 1 week or 2 weeks into our trip, but I received an email from Marty. It was a craig listing for a Shitzu who was around 1 month old. The newborn pup was white with splashes of black.
I thought about Nibbler. Emily expressed her desire to get a white Shitzu. One look at this new baby and I knew she was meant to be in our family. Nibbler was a black shitzu. The black would remind us of Nibbler. In the midst of our busyness I managed to call Tom, the owner. This dog was his boyfriends dog that only had one puppy. One. Just one pup. One pup that Marty agreed to pick her up and care for her until we were done with our vacation and headed back to Austin.
Over the course of a couple of weeks, Marty sent us updates with pictures of Oreo.
My heart felt a little bit better seeing pictures of our new pup. As the passing of Nibbler just happened before our trip to Florida, we had plans on taking him to the beach, riding in the car with us to Florida. Nibbler enjoying the breeze as he stuck his head out the window. Seeing his reaction once more as he saw DJ, our son. Those memories didn't happen. The trip was a way to help us all escape our troubles. It was a time to help us heal. Although it still hurt so much that I thought about cancelling our trip.
So last night, as I talked to my sister about the joy we have once again, we talked as sisters do. Talks about our homeschool curriculum. Talks about when we would start school. Talks about my trip. Talks about the new little bundle of joy we have now.
Sometimes I have to just sit back and relax, take a deep breathe and soak up all the blessings that God has given me.
To see the happiness that Marty has brought me once again through Oreo, it reminds me that God has good plans for us. Never in my mind would I have thought a friendship through nursing more than 12 years ago would once again bring me a new life for all of us to enjoy again.
Our Joy. It is finally here.
