Halloween III

One year ago today Stacy and I had just moved into our little house on Pearl street. Ronnie was over to check out our new digs, and we'd left Milo to run around the backyard and get some of his energy out. Five minutes later when I went to check on him, he was nowhere to be found. We panicked as we realized that he had pushed his way through a hole in our gate. We called in the troops for backup, and Dina and Jason joined the three of us as we drove around the neighborhood calling his name, hoping he was safe, asking everyone we could if they'd seen a little dingo-looking dog. One of the girls we stopped to ask said she'd seen a dog that looked like a miniature Labrador running toward Lamar. So with a sinking heart we returned to the house to scribble down some information about him onto a sign. The sun was going down by this point and nearly two hours had passed since we realized he was gone. I felt physically ill thinking about him being out there on the loose in a neighborhood that he was completely unfamiliar with.

And then I felt something urging me to go to Pease Park. That place is probably Milo's version of dog heaven. He's just in his element when we're there. And so, with our "Missing Dog" signs in hand, we frantically drove to Pease. Stacy and I parked and walked our usual path, and I headed toward the bulletin board to hang our sign. Looking up I thought I saw a woman and her two dogs with Milo following closely behind them. I called to him, and he came running over to us soaking wet and grinning like he had just had the adventure of his life. The woman he was walking alongside said, "He's yours? Was he lost? He's gone swimming with us and played with my dogs for our whole walk. I just figured you were in the park somewhere, but I looked down and he didn't have any tags. So I wasn't sure who he belonged to." His tags were missing! And that little dog had made it through Halloween traffic on Lamar (!) and we'd found him unharmed and in one piece.

"This is the first day of my life. Swear I was born right in the doorway."

Stacy and I got married yesterday at Mayfield park surrounded by family, friends, lush greenery and colorful peacocks. Walking into the park and seeing glimpses of the amazing decorating and, in the distance, everyone who was there to support us was an incredible feeling. And having Stacy by my side made everything feel right in the world. We took vows promising to love one another, help each other grow and embrace our individuality. I know we will do all of that and that together we will make the world a better place. I couldn't ask for a more loving partner. And now we share memories of a day dedicated to us and our love for each other.

We have spent today revelling in our married bliss and trading stories of the night (including, but not limited to, watching Hilary chase an aggravated peacock, laying a fat kiss on Ronnie as Sally and Donna watched in confusion, and opening the lockbox filled to the brim with ones). We are already hatching travel plans, and we are excited about putting the very generous honeymoon fund we received to good use. We are so blessed.