How Big Dog helped me get my groove back

I worked at the clinic all last week while my employer was on vacation.  I tried to write a post about it - the week was funny and trying and exhausting all wrapped up together.  But it was coming out less funny and more bitchy towards the owners, meaning that it's still too soon for me to talk about it.  But I survived the week and I got to do a fun surgery.  And my very last appointment ended with the technician taking some medications up to the owner and me calling after her, "Wait!  I forgot to warn him about the maggots!  Tell him his cat may get maggots on his face.  And if he does he should...call...or something." 

And that was kind of funny. 

Last night was the first night I could really relax.  The responsibility for the clinic, and thus, the patients, was officially back with the rightful owner and while the patients I saw were dancing around in the back of my brain, I could finally concentrate enough to work on a complicated knitting project.

Early in the evening I heard a quiet noise.  We only have a monitor in Julia's room so I knew the noise wasn't coming from her.  But something told me to go check on Max.  I found him curled up in his bed, clutching Big Dog, and crying. 

Part of Big Dog's eye had come off. 

Max is very literal and very realistic and very, not sure what the word is, but he's a step-by-step kind of a kid.  He wants to know each piece of something in exacting detail. 

I told him that he needed to go to sleep - it was late and he had to be up early for tennis - but that I would take Big Dog and fix his eye.

How?

I'll take some white thread and stitch that part of the eye back on.

Where do we have white thread?

In the craft drawer.

Where is that?

Right now it's the top drawer of Daddy's dresser.

Why is it there? 

Well, we moved that stuff up there to keep you and your sister out of it. 

But where in the drawer is the thread?

Where exactly?  I don't know exactly where in the drawer, but I'll find it. 

What will you use to sew it back on?

A needle.  And scissors. 

But how will you do it?

Look.  I am no saint.  And I will not even try to claim that I can keep myself together in dealing with Max all day long.  So it was about at this point that I said something along the lines of, "Look youneedtogotobed and I'll haveBigDogforyoutomorrow but pleaseplease justgotosleepNOW."

I took Big Dog and located needle, thread, and scissors in the craft drawer (insanely forgetting to note the precise location of each...I am very bad at anticipating my child's needs).  The white stitching in the pupil of Big Dog's eye had unraveled, so I just needed to make small stitches.  But it wouldn't be the same, I knew.  It wouldn't look exactly like the other eye, and since I was doing this while the eye was attached to the stuffed animal, I knew my knots would be visible.  Even as I was doing it, I worried that Max would freak about how it looked. 

I finished shortly after and returned to Max's room.  He was still awake.  Silently, I handed him his dog.  Silently, he studied the eye and touched the white thread carefully.

Thank you for fixing him. 

I was shocked.  First, that Big Dog passed Max's inspection, and second that I didn't have to go into an analysis of my stitches with him. 

I spent last week being clinical and scientific.  Last night, I felt just a little bit magical.

Comments

[Annie]

VICTORY!

[Christa]

When I first started reading this post, I thought you were talking about one of your PET dogs!

[Asics shoes]

Is that your dog ? Mine is white.The others turn and see the dog.

[Nike Air Max 2009]

I keep trying to subscribe for the feed of this blog, and it won't let me. Keeps saying there is an Invalid character in the text of this. Can you check and fix it, or sign me up.