Well, #LillyNO and I just got back from a whirlwind trip through the Midwest. You may recall (if you read this stuff) that I had mentioned leaving her with a friend for this trip.
Yeah, about that…
If you’ve ever had one of those moments where you stop and ask yourself “what the #%&$ were you thinking?” then you can relate to me last week. To refresh your memory, I took #LillyNo in to get her spayed and micro-chipped.
Two days before I was going out-of-town for a week.
Sigh. I know.
She did great with her surgery, although that first day, a couple of hours after we got back home, I took her off the bed so she could go outside for a potty break. And I was handling her gingerly, even more so than usual given her surgery. When I set her on the floor she let out THE most mournful yelp that lasted every bit of 25-30 seconds and she cowered at my feet. I almost broke into tears on the spot. And, in that instant, I asked myself what the #%&$ I was thinking by leaving her behind. I couldn’t do it. I called my friend Jacquie and thanked her, apologizing profusely, but knew I had to bring my poor puppy with me. By the next day #LillyNO was feeling significantly better (Thankfully) and we prepped for the trip. Which was pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself. And I just did, so. The purpose of this particular trip was A.) to marry my wonderful god-daughter (to her also wonderful sweetie pie, duh) and B.) swing through Nashville on the way home for a concert (naturally). And both events went off smoothly. Except for the whole almost forgetting to do the paperwork which actually, you know, marries the happy couple. But that’s a story for another time. I’ve got ample filler here without that tale. Besides, the two littlest grandkids were thrilled to have #LillyNO in for a visit. As evidenced by – adorbs, right?
For starters, the Little Diamond scored HUGE bonus points with old Grandpa Joe on my first day there. As she sat on my lap, looking up at my unshaved chin she proceeded to count all the dark hairs in my stubble. Now, tbh, there aren’t many. But to the mind of a three-year old, it was a significant number and she proclaimed it as such. Heart officially warmed. Her other particular highlights came during the festivities on Saturday. As the flower girl (read-flower princess) she marched down the aisle, on time, with a huge smile on her face, stopping at my leg to give me a great big hug until she went back to Mommy and Daddy for the duration of the ceremony. She was adorable. Later that night, at the reception, we had the fortune to be seated in close proximity to the cake. This was no small deal to a cake fan of her magnitude (mine too) (because apple/tree, etc) but shortly after the cake was taken back in to the kitchen to be cut, she looked over at the cake table and said, in a very loud, very precocious three-year old voice “Somebody stole the cake!” After being reassured the cake would, in fact, be back soon, she was fine. There’s nothing lower than a cake thief, especially for someone as fond of cake as LD. Me too, btw.
I’d also like to thank Illinois for providing gale-force winds on Saturday afternoon, along with snow blowing horizontally. Quick reminder, I just had two Tropical Storms pass through my area and neither provided the wind speeds I saw. Also it was, like 50 degrees warmer here.
Let’s just say I’m not remotely sorry I won’t be back there for the winter “festivities”.
Nashville was a lot of fun. One of the guys from the firehouse met me down there. Tom is a great guy in general, and a great guy to see a concert with in particular, and we saw a fantastic show. Jason Isbell at the Ryman Auditorium. If you’ve never checked out his music, please do, it’s amazing.
I also learned #LillyNO is apparently a subspecies henceforth known as Urbana Canis (h/t to Google Translate for giving me Latin) aka Urban Dog. She loved Nashville. I suppose it helped that she was treated like Leona Helmsley by the hotel staff. Although, unlike Leona, #LillyNO loved them right back. She was given numerous treats, a travel water bowl, and a tennis ball along with being fawned over every time they saw her. Her elevator skills are pretty impressive too. As soon as the doors opened, she would walk in and take a spot in the far corner, at my feet. She sat patiently until we got to our floor and then dutifully pranced off to our room. I think her favorite part, however, came during our walks. She not only encountered many adoring humans (and was appropriately charming to them all) she also found quite a different bill of fare as compared to walking around our yard. Now, for background, by all indications rabbit poop must be classified as quite the canine delicacy. Sophie *skypoint* used to scavenge the backyard meticulously in search of it and #LillyNO has spent roughly 93.1% of her time outdoors here doing the same thing. But rabbit poop doesn’t hold a candle to…
Street chicken.
Seriously.
I pulled no less than six chicken bones, one pork rib bone, two pieces of bread, something that may or may not have been polenta, and what I believe to have been prehistoric pizza crust from her jaws. In two days. And that’s not counting the things I saw before she did and steered her away from. 
Still and all, the #LillyNO experience in Nashville contained many more positives. An ample opportunity for human attention being foremost on her list, as seen here, on the sidewalk in front of a monolithic coffeehouse across the street from Vanderbilt University, awaiting the next person to speak gibberish to her and prove that she is, in fact, kind of a big deal.
As she should be. She’s worth it. And fwiw, I promise to do my best to keep the “what was I thinking” moments to a minimum.
At least as far as #LillyNO is concerned.
Peace
