As I think many of you know by now, Fall is my favorite season for a number of reasons, one of which is that it signals the soon to come holiday season which is always a wonderful time of joy, sharing and thankfulness. So, even though it’s a bit premature, I thought I would share something that I have been thankful for this year.
During a short, but emotionally fragile period for me early this year there was a stretch of days where I woke up already tired, where everything felt thin, colorless, and far away. I was trying to slow dance away a heartbreak and often wondered what was going to carry me through the day when something unexpected happened with the help of a very dear friend.
It didn’t seem at first like a grand miracle, not a sweeping revelation. Just eight pounds of fluff and a small heartbeat… first gently wrapped around my neck at our first meeting, him giving me his first kiss, and then quickly and suddenly becoming a part of my entire world.
He was a tiny, 8 pound, Goldendoodle, born on the eve of Valentine’s Day, as if the universe wanted to underline the point…Valentino…a name that sounded like a promise of something special and precious to come. I didn’t know it then, but he arrived exactly when my heart was most numb. And somehow, he didn’t fix anything….he simply made everything softer. He made the morning light less harsh… he made the nights less lonely…he made the quiet feel like companionship instead of emptiness.
He brought laughter back into the rooms of my home where it had been missing. He brought joy in ridiculous, unexpected bursts….the kind only a puppy can deliver, with clumsy paws and earnest, beautiful, staring, different colored eyes…one steely blue…the other a pool of dark chocolate. He brought a kind of love that doesn’t ask for anything in return except for you to be by his side. He didn’t just enter my life…he interrupted it…in the best possible way. He cracked open a little window of light in a place that had gone dim. And through that window came joy, softness, and a kind of love I didn’t realize I’d been starving for. He reminded me that love can arrive quietly, unexpectedly, and in the form of a fluffy miracle with big eyes and an even bigger heart….and you know what? He made me realize how badly I missed being able to give love and bring joy to another. Lucky doesn’t even begin to cover it…destiny does.
And in the midst of him becoming my treasured life companion and Sous Chef, I realized something…sometimes God doesn’t send you what you ask for. He sends you what you need. And for me, he sent an eight‑pound Valentine present.
There have been times in my life when I wasn’t truly appreciative of gifts that came my way but I sure as hell am not making that mistake this time.
I was going to write a post about my favorite duck and pumpkin dishes but he was neutered yesterday and when he returned home with a protective cone, the sweet, vulnerable image of him inspired me to write this post instead. Attached are pics of his ride to his new home and how regal he now looks at 40 pounds.
This coming season, please give thanks for the gifts that you have been given…large or small…they all bring out the goodness in the thing we call life.
Blessings…
David & my ‘Valentine’ Tino
