Milestones and stepping stones

Saturday morning I woke up to the most beautiful weather and couldn’t wait to get out in it so J and I packed up the dogs and headed to Seashore for a nice little hike. Flash back: J took me there a week after we first met, and that’s when I knew that I had found something really special in him, and not just an Eli Manning doppelganger with a killer sense of humor. It was the day that Mary and Leo first met, and all in all was the first “best weekend ever!” that we spent together. Flash forward: I think I've said, "This was the best weekend ever!" every single weekend since then.

We found “our beach” (the beach we found on the first trip) and there, J did the most amazing thing: he took Leo out into the water. This is nothing extraordinary for most dogs; Mary was in the water the entire time, swimming and jumping and playing like a porpoise. Leo, however, shakes and cringes at the very thought of his toes touching that awful evil liquid called the ocean. I can probably credit this to the day when I adopted him; he was covered in fleas and got two impromptu flea baths that night. Yeah, whoops, and ever since he’s adamantly refused to go near water. Refer to previously posted dingo photo for proof. So when I looked up and saw J leading that dog into the water (calm and assertively--he's been picking up on Cesar's magic too), and watched Leo willingly follow him, I got quite emotional. *Gross over-statement warning* I imagine it’s got to be somewhat similar to watching your child take their first steps? It was such a huge accomplishment for this little guy; we've lived here for almost 4 years, and he's never let the tide come near him. I swear to you, Leo looked back at me and gave me this look like, “Mom, can you pick me up from school around the corner, because your station wagon is sooo uncool.” I can’t wait for him to wade more than ankle-deep…or whatever a dog’s ankle equivalent is called. And a shout-out to Cesar for pointing out that there's only so much that we as humans can teach our dogs. The rest it up to the pack, i.e. Mary, who did her part by swimming her little heart out and showing Leo that you don't in fact fall over and die if you get wet.

I think this phase in my life could be summed up with this picture on the left. J said, "Let's pause for a moment on this bridge and have a quick 'Dawson's Creek' moment." So I immediately started to sing the theme song (instict) and he started accompanying with "do-dooo-doo-do" in the appropriate places. Justin and I reached a new level this weekend, and so did Leo, so I'm excited for all of us for what else is to come in the near future. But for now, I’m just basking in the glow of weekend wonderment and being fantastically young and in love, with a slightly sore bum from an amazing hike.