Our son, Daniel, has had an anxiety disorder since he was a tiny child. As he grew up, we began to worry about him because of his reactions when we would leave. At one time, I was unable to go to the grocery store for an hour without him calling me to see how much longer before I would be home. He was eleven years old, and afraid of being left alone for any period of time.
Brian and I prayed about Daniel a lot and what we should do to help him. We had considered counseling for him, but just didn’t feel it was quite the answer he needed. In what we thought was a separate issue, we discussed getting a dog for the kids, but I didn’t want to deal with cleaning up after, and feeding a pet. One day, I realized that the idea of getting a dog was an inspiration from above and possibly an answer to our prayers for Daniel. It was November of 2003, so we decided that we would surprise Danny with a dog for Christmas.
I researched the different breeds, and decided that I would be happiest with a small dog, that was still rough and tumble enough for an eleven year old boy. I chose a beagle. It took a few weeks to locate a breeder who would have beagle puppies ready for Christmas, but I found one out in Victorville who had two litters that would be ready around the first week of December. The breeder called me and set up the appointment for a Sunday around 11:30. He was not flexible at all with his date and time. Apparently, all the interested buyers were contacted to come pick out their puppy on the same afternoon. So, Brian and I decided to tell Daniel that he would have to leave church early with mom for a surprise.
I gave Daniel two hints on the way to Victorville: Tall and not Blue. He had no idea what I was talking about. He didn’t know we had even considered a dog, and furthermore, he had never heard of a blue dog. I had looked at a lot of pictures of beagles and I didn’t like the looks of the blue tick beagles, and Brian didn’t want a squatty looking dog. We arrived at the breeders house, which looked like any other house on the block. Danny was still completely clueless as to why we had driven all the way out to Victorville to someone’s house.
As soon as we walked in the door, we saw at least ten puppies in a doggie playpen. The look on Danny’s face was priceless. He was completely shocked and at the same time, thrilled. He played with all the puppies and watched each of them carefully. There were two short blue beagles who were sisters and one was a little bigger than the other. The larger one was playing too rough with the smaller one. Danny’s protective instincts kicked in, and he reached in to rescue the smaller dog. It must have been love at first sight, because he insisted that she was the dog he wanted. I was sure he would want a male dog, and that dog was not only female, but short and blue. But, it was Danny’s surprise, and I wanted him to be happy. We brought the puppy home and named her Sapphire after her bluish color.
The biggest surprise was not the one that Danny had, however. It was the one that I had. I fully expected to be annoyed by the dog and hoped she would live in the backyard and stay out of my way. Instead, I found myself holding her all night so that she wouldn’t cry, and coddling her like she was my own child. I have found that she was as much an answer to our prayers about Danny, as to my personal prayers about filling a void in my life.
Today, I absolutely adore that little chubby dog. She is truly man’s best friend. She is the most cuddly and sweet natured animal I’ve ever known. Sometimes I like her more than my own children. She never talks back, she doesn’t even bark. She is obedient, and she loves me unconditionally. I am completely taken by surprise that I enjoy her as much as I do.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Practical Jokes
My dad has always loved his Jacuzzi. Every morning, rain, snow or shine, he spends an hour soaking in his hot tub. One cold morning in March, my dad was taking his usual soak. Because the Jacuzzi was on a deck surrounded by a privacy fence, he never bothered to wear a bathing suit. On this particular morning, my mother got up and went to work as usual, locking all the doors as she left. She was completely unaware that she had locked my dad out of the house in his birthday suit in sub-zero weather. Soon after she left, he tired of his soak and decided to go back inside. He didn’t even have a towel, because the deck was attached to the house. He realized what had happened, and climbed back into the hot tub to contemplate how he was going to get back inside. It was around eight o’clock in the morning and my parents house was across the street from an elementary school, and of course, the children were arriving at that very moment. The only way my dad could figure a way into the house was to walk around the front of the house to the garage where there was a keypad to open the garage door. He looked around for something to cover up with and found a frozen rug by the back door. It was almost large enough to go around him. He waited until he heard the school bell ring and then decided to make a run for it. He safely made it around to the front of the house, and in through the garage door, shivering from head to toe.
Of course, he was a little upset at my mother for locking him out, so when he got inside he called her on the phone to tell her what she had done. He thought it made him feel better to get it off his chest. After he hung up the phone, my mother had a good laugh, then decided to play a practical joke on him. A few hours later, she had one of the men from her office call their house. My dad had left the house by then, so he left a message on the answering machine saying that he was an officer from the Spanish Fork Police department and there had been a report from the elementary school’s principle that there was a flasher running around near the school. He said that the police would like to talk to him, and wanted him to call back. Then he left the phone number of my mother’s office.
When my dad returned home and listened to the message he was so shaken up that he didn’t even realize that the number was my mother’s office. He called the number and when my mother answered he was still so shaken that he didn’t recognize her voice and explained who he was and that he was wanted for questioning. Of course, my mother busted up laughing and it was still a few moments before my dad realized what had happened.
At this point, my mother just had to share the joke with someone, so she called my youngest sister, Stacy, and told her what had happened. Stacy thought it would be funny to continue the joke, so she called my dad and told him that our cousin, Joni, who is an elementary teacher in a neighboring town, had called her. She said Joni had heard that there was a flasher at the elementary school in Spanish Fork and the school was on lock down, and did he know anything about it? My dad is very good natured, and just laughed along with her. But that wasn’t enough for Stacy. She called my oldest sister, Leslie, and told her everything that had happened.
That evening, Leslie called my dad. She said that she was driving home from work and she heard on the radio that the school across the street from my parents house was in a hostage situation because of a flasher. She said she was worried because they were so close to the school, and wanted to know what was happening.
This all transpired while I was out of town for a few days, and when I returned home, my sisters both called me to tell me all about it. I decided there was still some mileage to be had from my dad’s experience, so I e-mailed him a note that said I had been driving in downtown L.A. when I saw a billboard advertising the evening news. The billboard said “Naked man wrapped in a rug caught terrorizing elementary school children in Spanish Fork, Utah. Watch the eight o’clock news for complete coverage”.
This was the final straw for my poor father. He e-mailed me back a note saying, “I am sub-humanus primo uno! Will the pain never end? Well, that was the end of his pain. We dropped it after that but many glorious moments have been shared between my sisters, my mother and I in reliving one of the most successful practical jokes we had ever experienced.
Of course, he was a little upset at my mother for locking him out, so when he got inside he called her on the phone to tell her what she had done. He thought it made him feel better to get it off his chest. After he hung up the phone, my mother had a good laugh, then decided to play a practical joke on him. A few hours later, she had one of the men from her office call their house. My dad had left the house by then, so he left a message on the answering machine saying that he was an officer from the Spanish Fork Police department and there had been a report from the elementary school’s principle that there was a flasher running around near the school. He said that the police would like to talk to him, and wanted him to call back. Then he left the phone number of my mother’s office.
When my dad returned home and listened to the message he was so shaken up that he didn’t even realize that the number was my mother’s office. He called the number and when my mother answered he was still so shaken that he didn’t recognize her voice and explained who he was and that he was wanted for questioning. Of course, my mother busted up laughing and it was still a few moments before my dad realized what had happened.
At this point, my mother just had to share the joke with someone, so she called my youngest sister, Stacy, and told her what had happened. Stacy thought it would be funny to continue the joke, so she called my dad and told him that our cousin, Joni, who is an elementary teacher in a neighboring town, had called her. She said Joni had heard that there was a flasher at the elementary school in Spanish Fork and the school was on lock down, and did he know anything about it? My dad is very good natured, and just laughed along with her. But that wasn’t enough for Stacy. She called my oldest sister, Leslie, and told her everything that had happened.
That evening, Leslie called my dad. She said that she was driving home from work and she heard on the radio that the school across the street from my parents house was in a hostage situation because of a flasher. She said she was worried because they were so close to the school, and wanted to know what was happening.
This all transpired while I was out of town for a few days, and when I returned home, my sisters both called me to tell me all about it. I decided there was still some mileage to be had from my dad’s experience, so I e-mailed him a note that said I had been driving in downtown L.A. when I saw a billboard advertising the evening news. The billboard said “Naked man wrapped in a rug caught terrorizing elementary school children in Spanish Fork, Utah. Watch the eight o’clock news for complete coverage”.
This was the final straw for my poor father. He e-mailed me back a note saying, “I am sub-humanus primo uno! Will the pain never end? Well, that was the end of his pain. We dropped it after that but many glorious moments have been shared between my sisters, my mother and I in reliving one of the most successful practical jokes we had ever experienced.
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