The Story of Charlie
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I meant to do a Christmas update right after Christmas and now it’s January 12. I feel like I’ve been about three weeks behind for a long time. I still might post about Christmas, but for now here is the story of Charlie.
A lot of people know that Brandon isn’t a small-dog person. He grew up on a ranch with big dogs -- Labs, Retrievers, Chesapeakes, German Shepherds, and so on. Sometimes in jest Brandon has referred to small dogs as "rodents," and my friend Ginger has heard Brandon use the words "small dog" and "microwave" in the same sentence (he was only kidding, of course). I, on the other hand, am a small-dog person. It’s not that I don’t like big dogs, I just don’t want to own one. And that’s okay. I’ve had it settled in my mind for a long time that we will be a no-dog family and we’ve gotten along just fine. From time to time the kids might mention getting a dog, and Brandon and I ho-hum around until they give up and quit asking for awhile. Once Jack Henry suggested that we could get a little dog and just keep in the attic when dad came home from work.
Several months before Christmas, we got to dogsit our neighbors' little dog, Deuce, a cute little Morkie (Yorkie and Maltese mix). It was like I had a new toy for the weekend. I would take Deuce with me in the car when I had to drop the girls at ballet or drive through the bank. I would carry him around and sit on the couch while he slept on my lap. And after Deuce went back to his house I may have mentioned a few times that I wanted a dog, knowing there was no way we were ever getting a dog.
Well, four days before Christmas, Kym (my friend and neighbor, and also Deuce's owner) e-mailed Brandon to say: "I hope you haven't done your Christmas shopping for Susie yet. Because THIS IS IT!" She then informed him of a breeder in Davis, Oklahoma, who had one little blond Morkie left.
Two days later, Brandon told me he would be home a little late that evening because he had a Christmas errand to run. I honestly thought he was going to be late because he was going to Target to get me new kitchen scissors for Christmas. So, on December 23 I’m standing in the kitchen scooping spaghetti onto everyone’s dinner plates. The girls and I had been baking that day and I had been doing a few last-minute Christmas things and it had been kind of a hectic evening. I hear Brandon walk in, and I turn around and see him holding my Christmas stocking with a furry little head peeking over the top. And I was speechless. The first thing that came out my mouth was, “Is that our dog?” And when Brandon said yes I would have cried, but Lincoln and his friend were also in the kitchen and I didn’t want to embarrass them.
Later, Brandon said to me, “I only got this puppy for one reason. I knew how much you wanted a dog and I love you.” And as it turns out, Brandon happens to love Charlie too. He and Jack Henry lie on the couch and watch football, and Charlie’s right there with them.
