Tears of joy this weekend.

The weekend that was supposed to be hell turned out to be really great. I was dreading 4:30 on Friday afternoon, when I was to meet up with Red and Dad for what promised to be the most depressing weekend in years. Surprisingly, the mood was upbeat when I got into the car. Mom had been calling with updates and, so far, the Gooty* news had been positive.

When we arrived home, she barked with delight and even sat up for us! At that point, all the nervousness and panic that I'd been feeling melted away. Dad just shook his head and kept repeating, "I can't believe this."

Red immediately took her outside and brought her for a walk* all the way out to the railroad grade! You don't likely know where the railroad grade is, but it's how we reference the distance of all our walks in the woods*. For the record, it's much further than any of us thought she'd ever walk again. Of course, the parents and I were sitting inside panicking because Red was gone much longer than we expected...on a walk in the nearly dark forest with a dog so sick she hadn't been able to make it out of the yard in days.

We tossed around such lighthearted concerns as, "But, Red can't even see in the daylight. What if they're lost?!"

Followed by a little..."What if Lucy keeled over and Red doesn't know what to do?"

And then some...."What if a wolf came? Lucy can't run fast enough to get away!"

They arrived home safely, and we were delighted to learn that the walk went well. As the weekend progressed, so did Lucy's health. I'm still trying not to get my hopes up, but it's hard. She went for walks*, chased squirrels, did tricks, ate anything that was offered to her*. Going into this weekend, I promised myself that, no matter what, I was going to say goodbye to her. Guess what? I didn't. Maybe I'll kick myself for it later, but I just didn't feel the need. She was doing so well when we left. Having said that, I understand that she's not yet out of the woods. Her breathing isn't nearly back to normal and she's still taking a high daily dose of steroids. We're hopeful though. At least she seems happy.

Besides spending time with the dog, Red and I also spent time with Grandma (I whooped ass in rummy) and the Andersons*.

Dad drove me back to Duluth today, where he changed my tire** and we watched the second ship of the year come into the harbor**. All the tourists** present this early in the spring made me reconsider my constant "Duluth is the best city ever, I'd never live anywhere else" statements, but I don't think I'm ready to take them back just yet.

This is off the topic (as if there ever was one), but just too cute to not share. On Friday, out of nowhere, a middle-aged woman showed up at my desk with a big smile on her face. She introduced herself and said, "I think you grew up close to me." She was right, I did...at least for the first six years of my life. She also works for the county and had somehow come across my name. She recognized it and decided to pay me a visit. Very sweet! She asked about the family and told me what her three sons are up to. She said that as soon as she saw me, she recognized me. Not bad, considering the woman hadn't seen me in eighteen years!

* Red's pictures are always better than mine.
** Look at mine anyway.