Coming Home

She was away for two weeks. During that time I worried if she was eating, getting enough sleep, and making friends. We did get updates, but it made me miss her more. Finally, today she came home.

I was waiting in the living room watching our street for her arrival. She was supposed to be home at 10:00 a.m., but of course she was late. Only ten minutes. Those ten minutes felt like an eternity. Every time the wind ruffled a bush or a leaf flew through the air I would jump up with excitement only to be disappointed by the normalcies of everyday occurrences.

I decided to keep myself busy with household chores. I went to tidy up the playroom when I saw the black SUV approaching our house. I dropped the toys I meant to put away in their dollhouse and rushed out the door. I got to the driveway just as the back hatch opened. To my surprise she wasn’t wearing a leash. She leaped out of the vehicle and galloped around the front yard. I could tell right away that her two weeks at doggie training camp was working.

Molly, our German Shepherd, was running to and fro, reclaiming her yard. I watched in amazement at her grace, her pink tongue with its black birthmark dangling from her mouth, and her sharp eyes scanning her domain. I could feel the freedom she felt of not being weighed down by a human holding her leash. I was so overjoyed to have her back that I had to remind myself to greet Molly’s trainer. When I did Molly ran over to me and paused just long enough for me to scratch her back before something else in the grass sparked her attention. The trainer and I stood there watching and exchanging small talk.

I could not believe how much I missed her. The dog I did not want. The dog which took my husband four years to convinced me to get. However, there I was watching her trampling through my flowerbed feeling so much love and relief that she was finally home.