Dog for 3 Hours

This past Saturday brought a heavy snow storm to Denver along with a little excitement! Jake had his tires replaced at Walmart so I had just taken him back to pick up his car when its tail wagged right past my legs. At first I thought it was a bird... I was so confused as I furiously looked around... Next thing I know, there's a big ole black dog jumping up on me! Hello!

This was THE SWEETEST dog I've ever met. It just happily trotted in circles around me, brushing up against my legs occasionally wanting to be stroked. I stopped in my tracks and looked around for an owner. No sign. No tags. Snow DUMPING down. I realized I couldn't just walk away like my first inclination tempted me to do. So with several prompts, kissing noises and slapping my knees, I was able to coax the dog into my apartment. Yep, hide yo' dogs, cause the snatcher is about!

I grabbed a towel and dried him off well right before he started bolting around every square inch of our 2 bedroom apartment. It was entertaining and yet anxiety-provoking at the same time. What is he getting into? Wow! He can clear the couch in one bound? Not the garbage! Somebody's friendly! After a few minutes, he calmed down enough to sit by me while I stroked him and waited for Jake to get home. He walks in with a bewildered look on his face...

We try calling around, using several different numbers, to contact Animal Control. Apparently they're closed on Saturdays at 4:00 p.m., which I found kind of surprising. I guess I expected someone to be available 24/7. Finally I got connected to the Shelter in Denver and was told we could bring the dog into their facility. Jake picked him up, put him in the back of the car and we made the what-should-have-been-a-half-hour-but-really-an-hour-and-fifteen-minute drive just to find out there was only a Night Drop. Literally a cinder-brick room with one wall lined with locker-like compartments you stick the animal in and leave... Really? I mean, really? Couldn't do it.

I am one blessed woman, with an amazing, merciful husband. As soon as I told him what was inside, he agreed to keeping the dog for the weekend and putting up some flyers to hopefully find the owner. Worst case scenario, we don't find the owner by Monday and end up taking to a shelter after all. Relieved, I climb back in the car and we voyage back into the snow storm, headed home.

Throughout the drive both ways, we both fell in love with this silly mutt. He loved sticking his head out the window despite the cold, snowy and windy conditions. At every opportunity he would try to jump up front into our laps. If he couldn't get through, he'd lay his head on our shoulders. He managed to dodge our attempts to block him a few times and we ended up with a full sized dog on our laps-- sometimes while stopped at a light or when he just needed extra attention and love. S.O. incredibly A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

After another hour and fifteen minute snowy crawl home, we stopped over at PetCo to stock up on food and a leash for bathroom breaks to get us through the next 24 hours or so. We got back to the car and the windows were completely covered in fog. Who knew a dog could fog up windows in 10 minutes?  Haha! He was so relieved we were back!

As soon as we returned to the complex and started up the walk to our apartment, we heard a man calling out. The dog stopped in his tracks and stared at the man across the courtyard. We called out to him and sure enough, it was the dog's owner! So bittersweet! We had really fallen in love and were looking forward to keeping him a few hours and then it was kinda pulled out from underneath us... But overall we hope he is happy in this guy's care.

We absolutely loved caring for a dog for a short time. Looking forward, anxiously, to that time in our lives when we can finally have one of our own!

Catching Up

Well it's been a century and a half since I last wrote. It's been a busy few months!

In November I finally found work in Denver. Yay!!! The funniest part was that I basically found two jobs at the same time. I had signed up with a staffing agency in the area and they placed me at DISH Network doing screening for their hiring process. I really loved it. I loved getting a taste of working in HR, doing phone interviews with people and the people I worked with were awesome.

After a few days of work, I got a call saying I had got a job in Social Work which I had interviewed for about a month previous. What??? Blessings rolling in! But it also put me in a strange spot where I loved what I was doing, but had a chance to further my career... Ultimately I took the new job (higher pay with benefits won out.) I completed a whopping two weeks at DISH, which I felt bad about doing to them, but I think I'm where I'm supposed to be in the long run.

I've been working at North Metro Community Services since mid-November 2014. I coordinate services for people with disabilities. It's really complicated to explain, so I'll just leave it at pushing papers and attending lots of meetings. It's a great fit for me, for now. I love being back in the game of more directly helping people. Admittedly, I was really nervous about working with this population at first. But as I've met more and more of my clients, I feel myself falling in love with their sweet spirits and developing "Mama Bear" tendencies in their defense. I'm so grateful for answered prayers!

Thanksgiving 2014 was spent with my family in Utah. It was a quick trip, but desperately needed. It was fantastic to connect with my siblings and enjoy the meal together. In my adult life, I hadn't figured my family to be one of those tight-knit groups, but this holiday season made me realize that we are... at least more than most. We each have our own lives and honestly don't communicate as much as we probably could, but at the end of the day we have each others' backs. You can pass the "Most Amazing Family" award right on over. :)

Early December marked my brother Reed's sealing to his wife Kimberlee. Such an incredible accomplishment for them. It was such a beautiful experience to see them in the temple, to see how their natures have been changed by Christ, to feel of their powerful spirits. Reed, if you're reading this, I'll never forget that moment we hugged. It was a powerful moment for me where all resentment was simply washed away, replaced by profound love. If any of you have ever experienced something like that, you'll know how special of an experience that can be.

Christmas time was spent with Jake's family. We were really looking forward to getting that quality time we only get once a year. The drive out was a quick 16 hours! The change of scenery was so fun, going from Denver through Kansas and Missouri. The mantra of the beginning of the trip was: "That's Kansas, baby!" with a subsequent high five. Haha. Everything's better in Kansas (compared to Nebraska): there are trees, the rest stops provide magazines for your restroom use and the sunset was epic. Although there was quite the stench in the air from who knows what... haha! We spent the night in Independence, which was really cool to be where there was so much church history. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling the greatest, otherwise we would have done some exploring on day 2.

To avoid a play-by-play, the trip overall was tainted by: car troubles in St. Louis, Jake on antibiotics for Bronchitis, limited time with each member of Jake's family, topped off with food poisoning that lasted from Christmas Eve to two days after Christmas. We fortunately ended the trip on a positive note, getting a good quality day with the Burzlaff clan the day we left. But as we drove away, we both lamented the time lost being ill and not getting quality time as we had expected.

The week after we got back, we flew back to Utah for a baptism of a close family friend/ my "adopted" sister. Truly the most spiritual baptism I've ever attended in my life. I realized a few things about my faith that day and the way I want to teach my children if/when I have that opportunity.

My apologies for the lengthy post. I had intended to share a few things I've learned about life in the past few months... I've been planning to hold back and see what more I learn in the coming year, but recently I have felt passionate about a few things and wanted to break the silence. To save your time and stay true to the original idea, I'll say a few final words that will hopefully suffice:

Respect people's rights to feel and believe whatever they will. Just because their ideas may not be socially appropriate/acceptable, reflect fairness or not match your beliefs, respect their rights. Too often people are forced to conform by laws or social influences. Wasn't this country founded on the concept of freedoms? Stop trying to prove your point. Say your peace, move on and respect others, like your mama probably taught you. 

That's all for now. Thanks for listening and bearing through my reflections.