I think the earth is spinning faster.  How else do you account for the fact that Christmas is less than two weeks away and I haven’t even begun shopping for Kali Holly yet?   We got back from spending Thanksgiving with my son and his wife in Illinois, picked up Kali, and in a blink of an eye we’re looking Santa straight in the eye.  Yikes.

Kali’s six-day stay with Bucky and Callie while we were in Illinois was great.  In retrospect it was probably good for us both to have a little “away from each other time”.  After the first day I stopped texting her every hour partly because she didn’t respond but mostly because I knew she was in good hands with my dear friend Colleen and her two pups Callie and Bucky.

While I was on a plane Kali was at the park romping and wrestling with Bucky, the one year old golden lab.  While I was fighting the luggage carousel at O’hare Kali was being lavished with love from Auntie Colleen.   And while I was driving south from Chicago three hours  to Southern Illinois in the rain Kali was sleeping in front of the fireplace with Callie the 11 year old chocolate lab.  I want to be Kali!…

Holly and I had a great holiday week with my son and his wife and Kali had a great vacation with her new cousins.  The night after we arrived home I woke up and tried to be “cool” and not be all about going to pick up Kali.  At 3:30 am I asked Holly if she was ready to go get Kali.  She rolled over, punched me in the stomach and said “no, go back to sleep – it’s still night time and Auntie Colleen will kill you if you knock on her door this early”.  I tried again at 4:30, unsuccessfully,  and with a bloody nose went back to sleep now resigned to wait until first light to go get my Golden Kali.

Around 10:30 am we headed out to get Kali.  My car can go fast; real fast, but I kept it under 100 80 MPH on the 20 mile journey because I was still remaining “cool” and Holly said she would punch me in the stomach and nose again if I went any faster.

We get to Auntie Colleen’s, I knock on the door and Colleen’s husband Gary lets us in.  “They’re on a walk, come on in”.  “Wha..!  My Kali girl hasn’t been up since 3:30 waiting for me to pick her up?!?  She hasn’t been miserable without me?   Morning of day six and the day I pick her up and she’s on a “walk”?

After about 10 minutes Auntie Colleen comes in with about 220 pounds of dogs in tow; Bucky, Callie, and my Golden Kali.

I see Kali.  Kali sees me.  The moment I’ve been thinking about since I knew we’d be leaving her and more recently since 3:30 that morning.

Kali:  ” Hey Dad.  Bucky’s pretty cool and Callie has the same name as me but she spells it funny.  I’m gonna go play now.  See ya’…”

That’s it?  After six days of separation anxiety and 2000 miles all I get is a “Hi Dad”?

And that’s how it goes with kids.  And pups.

And for this uneventful reunion I am grateful to my dear friend Colleen and so proud of Kali.

But mostly proud of myself for staying in bed at 3:30, and 4:30, and for staying under 100 MPH.

New Cousins