A Week of Love - Part 1

Today, I am going to start a very ambitious challenge.

I am going to post every day for a week.

I know, right? Really? Every day for an ENTIRE week? Because so far you can barely manage once a month.

Well, NOT today sister! I am determined to do this, and to inspire me I have dubbed this week "Love Week".

Those of you who know me know that I am a hopeless romantic. Wall-E is my favorite movie, not only because space and robots are cool, but because it's an endearing love story about two robots who go green.

So my hopeless romanticism has been spring loaded by Valentine's Day yesterday, and I have decided to dedicate the entire week to a concept that might get a bad rap this time of year.

Today's theme is: I love YOU! Yes you. Because I know there is someone out there (and please note I am not specifying romantic love, it can be any kind) that you LOVE. You see them, and you smile because you can't help it and you just want to go be by that person and maybe even do something crazy like give them a hug or make a high-pitched squealing sound.

With that said, here is my inspirational I love YOU! story for the day:


When Max was a baby, he had to go to the vet. Not because he had inhaled a squeaker, or eaten his collar, no, this was just a routine check-up to get some shots.

But this particular occasion happened to be his very first trip to the vet. Ever. It was also only his second trip in a car. Ever.

If you've met Max, I'm sure you can imagine the high level of uncertainty, confusion, and periodic terror that accompanied this unknown voyage. Especially because he was allocated to the back of my dad's car. His first car ride had been a cozy affair in which his saintly buns did not even touch the seat, let alone the floor, of the car. He traveled securely wrapped in my and my sister's arms receiving ample kisses and murmurings of "Good Boy! Aren't you cute??? We're going to have so much fun, you'll just love our back yard!"

I have to admit, if my first trip in a car was that relaxing, I probably would have been just as displeased as Max was to be gently, but firmly, placed in the back of a car on a rubber mat. It resulted in a pretty instantaneous and consistent whimpering that probably would have broken even Dick Cheney's heart. Perhaps literally. It was pretty high pitched.

Luckily for our sanity, Ruby was also due for some booster shots, and was accompanying Max in the back of the car. About half way through the drive to the vet clinic, Max pulled his trembling, nervous little self together enough to make it to the safety of a vast cave of fur when he secured a spot sitting between Ruby's front paws.

Yes, Max had become a little Matryoshka doll, completely encased underneath Ruby who was calmly seated and staring down at Max with slight confusion and a little more concern. At this point in the ride, Ruby bent down and gave Max a big smooch on the top of his head.

The transformation was shocking. Not only was this smooch met with a glorious end to the high-pitched squeal, but Max actually began to wag his tail!

How Ruby's affection calmed Max so quickly is a bit of a mystery since it wasn't like the super cute mommy giraffe kissing her baby giraffe picture we all know and love, but more like the sucking kiss of a Dementor since his head became momentarily lodged in Ruby's mouth when we went over a bump in the road.

It's possible that emerging from a dark space, covered in slime, brought his back to his early childhood days, but I like to this that on that fateful day, Max was saved emotional trauma by LOVE. It didn't matter any longer where they were going, or why his tiny bottom was being bounced around the back of a moving vehicle. Ruby loved him and he was content to go with her where ever that may be, and has been ever since.

So my darling readers, this is one reason why I thing that love should be celebrated for it's capabilities to heal even our most deep-seated insecurities and fears. So go enjoy Valentine's Day Part 2 and tell someone I love YOU!