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“Hold on, they are just getting out of their car.”
My mother always says, ‘hold on’ when really, she means ‘be quiet.’
“Okay, I’m holding on tight to my couch!”
“What? Hold on, Katie!”
“Bracing for impact! Ahh!”
She shushed me and then made her neighborhood announcement. “I have a grand dog!” She shouted, and I heard clapping. I started laughing at the thought, and I was beginning to feel excited about Dolly. She immediately hit the button for a video call, her favorite way to bombard me. I accepted it, pointing the camera at my new little furry roommate. My mother freaked out again, speaking to Dolly in baby talk, to which Dolly responded well and put her ears back a little. My mother was natural at these things.
“How did this come about, Katie?”
That was a great question.
“Well, at church today we had someone from the animal shelter come and speak. The shelter is full, and they are desperate for adoptions.”
My mother gasped.
“I didn’t intend to go there,” I said. “I just kind of showed up by accident, and theysaw me and the next thing I know—”
“I would’ve done the same thing! I meanlookat her. She’s just an innocent littlefloof.”
Looking at Dollydidmake me smile. I wasn’t ready to admit to my mother how overwhelmed I felt.
“Does she have a bed, or is she just going to use that ratty old blanket she’s on right now?”
Dolly was sitting on a brand-new blanket from Pottery Barn, but I pulled out the list, reading off some of the necessities, to which she added a few more.
“You’ll find a grass pad for your balcony a lifesaver for those early morning and late-night potty breaks.”
I listened in amazement as she went on.
“She will need seasonal sportswear since she’s so tiny. Clothes are not just funny anymore. They help small dogs retain body heat. You don’t want her to get cold.”
The wordsportswearmade me think of tennis outfits or the ‘older’ ladies' clothing section at stuffy department stores. Although I was still too young to shop in that section, I did look forward to the day when shoulder pads and sequins were mandatory. I could dress like a country singer every day.
“Have you considered grooming her yourself, or will you have it done professionally?”Grooming her myself?
Katies Biblical Application
“The righteous care for the needs of their animals,” Proverbs 12:10
“Oh my. What do I know about any of this? Can’t I just get that done somewhere?”
I could barely keep up with my own grooming. Looking at Dolly’s curls, I didn’t think I could keep them nice by myself. I could barely handle my own hair texture. Though I washed it often, my hair required help that I didn’t know how togive. I’d tried styling it several ways, but it attracted frizz.
Once, while at the mall, I saw a woman with her hair woven into two braids with a big thing of fabric intertwined. It was only her and I eating cinnamon rolls in the food court on a Saturday night, so my staring didn’t go unnoticed.
“It’s called heatless curls. You braid it around a band, and once you take it out, you have movie star hair.”
“Thanks for the tip. I gotta try that.”
The next day, I did try it, but the only thing I found that could work for the fabric was the belt from my bathrobe. It was a little too comfortable, however, and a few hours later, my neighbor knocked on my door because she’d just returned from vacation and had received one of my packages by mistake. Her eyes went straight to my hair.
“Hi, Katie. “Um,” she visibly forced her eyes away, and I was smiling as if I’d forgotten all about it. “I got this package for you, and uh, is that the band from a bathrobe? Young people these days—always setting new trends.”
Trying to act natural and not show my embarrassment, I took the package without saying a word, just smiling back and nodding. The next day after work, she was sitting on her porch, the belt from a bathrobe in her hair, pointing at it and giving me a thumbs up.
