Last Friday, Miss Ellen arrived, driving her fire engine red pick-up truck. Her hands shook in anticipation of meeting her new friend. All the kids were home, as Dad ran to the store for just one more thing before I chaperoned the whole gang to the school dance. It was better that way. They met her. She met them. She met the brother, too. The words she spoke that struck me most were, "I'm sorry. He just doesn't seem high maintenance to me."
Miss Ellen drove away with Luke riding shotgun. The kids agree that Miss Ellen is the right Forever Mom for him. We've decided he was meant to help us deal with our grief over Riley and that we took care of him until Miss Ellen was ready for him. She plans to train him to be her companion while she volunteers teaching botany classes to children at the Missouri Botanical Garden. {Could he have a better life?!} Just 15 minutes away, she has promised we can visit anytime and can arrange dogdates for the two brothers.
Before she arrived, Miss Ellen visited the pet store and purchased balls and chew toys and food for the dog she had yet to meet. She took our crate so he would learn to sleep beside her bed. She knew he was right for her by the look in his eyes.
Since then, Obi has taken walks with us, has ridden to school with us; he even accompanied us to drop off GoodWill donations tonite. His chewing on kids' toys has been eliminated. He goes out the front door and sits on the front lawn without direction while the kids chase each other with light sabers or gleefully fly past on their bicycles.
Tonite, he lays at my feet, fast asleep. I miss Luke. But it's turning into a One Dog Night.
