Let me preface this blog entry by saying I’m not hugely comfortable about posting it, but feel strongly that I should, so here goes. I’ve always tried to keep my blog completely positive and only about the great things in life, but truth be known, that isn’t how it always is and I can think of no better way to demonstrate the incredible impact that Caleb had on my life this morning then writing about it. If it wasn’t for him I’d be having one heck of a crappy day, be getting absolutely nothing done, and instead be titling this… “Sometimes memories are worse than nightmares.”
Something like this seems to happen to me each year, right about the time as snow blankets the ground and I start feeling cooped up from being inside for a few weeks. My mind starts to wander, thinking about a previous life where I was huddled up with a computer in the lift shack at the top of some mountain or floating through the powder on a steep pitch. That is what happened to me sometime early this morning when I had the most incredible, vivid dreams of my past.
The dreams were like a greatest hits compilation from my 14 days at Whistler, BC commissioning the Symphony Express. The air was raw, and brutally cold, I could feel it freezing my toes as I worked away on my keyboard. I’m sitting atop a snowmobile watching the Whistler ski patrol launch a mortar into the side of Flute bowl and an avalanche rips across shaking the ground beneath my feet. I’m racing up the mountain at 3 AM, one of the first to ride the lift, feeling the magnificence of my surroundings and in awe to see the massive peaks bathed in moonlight; the stars have never shown so bright. I’m there and experiencing the visceral impact of all these emotions as I had done 5 years ago, only thing different is this morning I wake up with a paralyzed feeling in my body unable to move.
The tears start to flow down my cheeks and I am sad, very sad.
Not more than a few moments later and I feel a light bounce onto my bed and Caleb is there, concerned, and wondering, and there for me. He snuggles his head against my face and comforts me as though he knows something is wrong. It’s really quite incredible, and I fall back to sleep with my best friend in my arms.
Later, I wake up, still with a dull ache in my heart, but better, and Caleb still seems to be paying extra attention to me. He’s a little more upbeat this morning, a little more lovable, and a lot more wanting to play… almost like he’s trying to force me into having a great start to the day, and that’s exactly what he made was a little bit of roughhousing and a lot of love.
So, believe it or not, and really I’m having a hard time believing it because these days used to be so tough to shake, but crappy day avoided and it’s all because of Caleb. I could not have wished for anything better when I thought about getting a service dog. Yeah, picking up my cell phone is nice, oh yeah picking up the beautiful ladies even better, but helping me move past a really terrible day in life; most definitely the most amazing thing I could have ever wished for.
Thank you Caleb, Bruce/Chris his puppy raisers, and everyone else at CCI who put so much into making these incredible creatures. You cannot imagine the difference he made in my life today.
Nothing makes the day seem better than waking up to your best pals… Hopefully tomorrow will be better!