Cap and I celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary yesterday by taking the dog to the vet.
Obviously that hadn't been the original plan, but that's how life goes.
The night before, our precious, excitable, ridiculous dog barked so hard at the UPS man that she fell down the stairs. At least that's what I assume happened. I only heard it, I didn't see it. The next morning she was having a hard time getting around so we decided to take her in—just in case.
All of us went. Me, the dog, Cap, the twelve-year old.
All of us joined Annie in the exam room as well, which was a first. The vet didn't seem surprised so I'm guessing we're not the only family who's done that. Annie barked and huffed and told everyone within a three mile radius her feelings on the matter. They sent us home with NSAIDS and a light tranquilizer to keep her calm for a week as her hip heals. It doesn't seem broken, just strained. We'll check again in seven days.
As worried as I was about the dog (she's nine, any fall could be her last fall), I actually had a great time with all of us there. We work well as a team. And for some reason, going on a family trip to the vet seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the day we got married and started this little family sixteen years ago.
When I married this man sixteen years ago, I had no idea how our lives would go. All I knew was that I loved him and trusted him like no one else. I still do.
And I guess that's what I keep thinking about. There's no one else I'd want to do this with. No one else I'd want to drive me to the vet while I try to hold my eighty pound dog still in the backseat while my twelve-year-old cracks jokes about getting her a bionic hip. No one else who'd take me to the record store to make sure I got 1989 T.V. on vinyl. No one else who could make such a regular day feel special even while doing regular things.
No one else I trust to have my back and my heart for my whole life.
I was so excited when I said "I do" sixteen years ago. And I still am. Because I still do.
