I have a dog

Meet Alfred Abraham Lincoln--or just Lincoln.

He is an American Hairless Terrier, and has been my dog for two weeks now. His first family had to move away for work and couldn't take him. My friend, Beth, already knew and loved him, but due to her prior dog commitments (Gracie & the poodle, Sir Chuck) couldn't take him, still she promised to find him a good home.

Meanwhile in my life, I have a reputation (duly earned) as, well, not an animal person. I have always felt that domesticated animals are a bit of an aberration. I struggle with a culture that puts the lives of animals above humans, etc, etc. And yet, in a life that has become more and more about me, I thought having something living that relies on me would be good for my character. Some of this feeling came from a great This I Believe essay I heard last year. You can listen to it here.

So I started thinking seriously about getting a dog, building my character, allowing my priorities to be set by something other than my convenience. Still, my character only stretches so far, and I was still unable to get behind the idea of shedding. I am still deeply in love with my new home and couldn't imagine having dog hair all over the place. Flash forward to about 6 weeks ago.

When Beth mentioned Lincoln (nee Alfred) to our friend Jenny, with whom I had been discussing my dog dreams and limitations, Jenny realized this could be a match!

And so it is! I can't believe how much I am enjoying life with Lincoln. He's got lots of energy, and so we go for walks nearly every day. He's snuggly, but not too needy. He's totally house trained (YAHOO!) and charming. Of course, he's a bit mouthy, but we are working on that. Also, he's, you know, hairless, which makes him a great conversation piece--I've talked with more of my neighbors in the last two weeks than in the last six months.

Finally, due to his hairless nature, he has to wear clothes in the winter to stay warm and in the summer to keep from getting sunburned. I imagine this will be tons of fun as the seasons pass and I decide if I want to be one of those pet owners who makes/buys LOTS of clothes for their dog, or just one who makes due with the outfits he came with. What do you think? Below is Lincoln in his very trendy puffy vest with faux fur collar. Enjoy!

I am trying to catch him on video when he does kooky hairless dog things--check back for updates!

Today has been wonderful in so many ways!

I was having lunch with my friend Sheree to make plans for the upcoming wine gala I am coordinating (lunch was delicious and delightful all by itself, but read on...) when Jenny called to say that WE ARE GOING TO ETHIOPIA IN TWO WEEKS!

I am traveling with Matt & Jenny & Eliana to pick up their new daughters/sisters, respectively in Ethiopia. Mostly I'll be helping wrangle kids on the plane ride back and hanging out with E while Matt & Jenny do red tape-y things. I've never really traveled at all and this is a heck of a way to start! Please pray for us.

Then I got a call from Joshua that he was accepted into his dream grad program at U Chicago. Even though I'll be sad to see the Eleks leave Wheeling, I am so glad for him. We knew he would get in, but it took actually getting in for him to believe it--not a bad strategy I guess.
The rest of the day was spent getting things taken care of for work--lots of emails and phone calls--all of which were full of great news and new opportunities.

Then this evening I went to a wine tasting at GMW which was nice on its own of course, but there was a moment during Dominick's ramblings about Pinot Noir that I had such a vivid flashback to evenings spent on the Veranda when I lived there. The Veranda was this wonderful little urban secret garden/patio that was the site of so many wonderful summer evenings spent with friends, a record player, and wine and cheese. I'm feeling nostalgic--indulge me:

All these pictures are from my 27th Birthday Party--sadly, we didn't often have a camera with us on the Veranda. We really did spend time out there on other occasions!

This is the first time I have been sad not to live there anymore. Since I moved into my little yellow house, I often forget I haven't always lived here. This winter provided many wonderful memories already, but none took place outside, under the stars, warm summer evenings flying by. I have a deck and I look forward to creating new memories there, but so few of my friends from the original Veranda are around--that's a place and time that I'll never have back.

I am not sure when I'll get around to understanding that time really passes, the world keeps turning, people move on, and all this without my having any say whatsoever. Maybe tomorrow.