Driving Mz. Maddy
I glanced in the rearview mirror of the 4Runner and saw Maddy’s nose sticking out at me through the bars of the freshly-installed pet partition. She and Suh were safely segregated away from the (also freshly-installed) baby car seat. Suh was more than happy to hang her head out of the back window, but Maddy seemed to look longingly at me as if through the bars of a prison.
I felt a twinge of sadness and what might only be described as melancholy as I thought back to the days when Maddy was an only child in a single-parent household. I used to love it when she would rest her head on my shoulder while I drove and she was always close enough to listen to my latest rant or share my McDonald’s french fries. Now she was far away. And there was the shadow of a GIANT tiny new baby between us.
So many things have changed. So many things are continuing to change.
I count my blessings every day, but sometimes I wonder why it all has to happen so fast…
August 23rd, 2010 at 6:48 am
My dog used to do the same thing on my shoulder until we had our son and put him in the back. That was 19 months ago when he was born and while Maddy might not know what is about to hit her, she’ll soon get used to her new brother. My dog has gone from just tolerating our son to checking in on him before bed some nights. It took a while but every day they are becoming more and more the best of friends! As for the car rides, the dog is just happy to come along now and doesn’t care if he’s in the back although he’d love to ride up front! Good luck!