Jovie And The Surprise

We all woke this morning anticipating the arrival of our family dog Jovie.  An 80+ pound Golden Retriever with an exuberant amount of love to share.  We haven’t seen her since before Jackie’s surgery in early September and could not wait to be reunited once again.  Jim went to the lobby to meet our very good friends who have become our consistent Jovie taxi, and was greeted with a huge furry hug.  Our friends said that she slept most of the way until they reached the city limits.  At that point Jovie was up, looking out the window and I truly believe could sense we were near.

Jim and our friends met Jackie and I sitting on the second floor terrace.  I received a similar greeting as Jim, but it was short-lived as Jovie spotted Jackie. She made a beeline to his chair, put her paws gently on his lamp and gave him kisses as the beautiful reunion began.  I know I have talked about this before, but there is a calming factor that a family pet brings to a household.  It is like an anchor of love that consistently grounds its members, day in and day out.  We are fortunate to be able to experience this feeling miles away from home when she visits. Jackie experiences even more. His facial expression tells it all as he completely focuses on her and somehow pushes the reality of his situation aside.  So many things have changed in his life, but the love of his dog is something that has never wavered, and something he can always count on no matter what he looks like or how he feels.

We all were catching up and enjoying the beautiful fall day.  Our friends had made a lunch date with their friends in the area and would return later in the day to take Jovie home.  We had promised Lindsay that we would share pictures from the day since she and Florent wouldn’t be here. We just got done talking about them when the automatic, sliding doors opened to the terrace and there they were.  They had surprised us with a visit and the tears and fur were flying.  The most special part of the surprise was that Lindsay had told Jackie that they were coming a couple days ago while they were on the phone together, and he didn’t spill the beans. When asked by Dr. K on Friday, if he was having any visitors over the weekend, Jackie simply replied, “Jovie.” The look on Jackie’s face was priceless when Lindsay and Florent walked in.  He had done something on his own, which is rare these days, he had pulled off the surprise. PTL

The afternoon hours went quickly.  It was one of those times you wish you could pause and keep replaying over and over again.  To have our family unit together was so incredibly special.  We cannot wait to get home so these moments can last even longer.  We laughed, we hugged, we cried and got caught up with each other’s lives.  It is always hard to say goodbye, but we are hopefully getting closer to going home and that makes things a little bit easier to handle.

The rest of the day included the usual wheelchair pull down the hall on the second floor and the rests in bed with Jovie by Jackie’s side. I’m hoping these tastes of home continually encourage Jackie to keep staying strong and to realize that it will only be a matter of time until we get there once again.

Around the same time our friends came back to take Jovie home, Jackie’s spasms started to kick in and he was getting tired.  We went back to the room for a quick snack and then Jackie showered and headed to bed.  He had a fairly restful nights sleep, one I hope was filled with dreams of home and a future that is still full of the same goals, just with an extended timeline.

We are blessed with support from so many family members and very good friends.  I just wanted to send a special thanks out to MA.  Our dear friend who has temporarily adopted Jovie.  She has cared for Jovie as if she were her own, and her family and their friends have created an incredibly loving home away from home for her.  We are touched every day by her kindness and hope she knows how much it means to us.

“Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.”
~Orrison Swett Marden