His Parents Surprised Him with a Dirt Bike – ryan

My sister and I desperately wanted a dog. My parents said no way. One Christmas Eve, in an unusual move, they let us open a few gifts rather than wait for the morning. A brush, a rubber ball, and other things that made no sense. As the confusion washed over us, Mom, who we didn’t realize had been absent, came walking down the hallway with a puppy in her arms. I’m tearing up just writing this and that was about 50 years ago.

I just burst into tears. I could not believe it. I was so sure that we were never getting a dog.

When our kids wanted one, my wife and I said no. One day we talked about it privately and thought we should reconsider. That year at Christmas when all the presents had been unwrapped, I told the kids there was one last gift to open. I handed my then 9 year old daughter a small box perhaps 3 inches on each side. She tore off the wrapping paper and opened it. Inside was a folded sheet of paper. She took it out and opened it. It was a picture of a golden retriever puppy. She just stared at it without expression. After about 15 seconds, she looked up at me and asked, “Are we getting a dog?” I just nodded. She burst into tears. Her younger brother didn’t understand why she was crying when she should be happy. We explained that not all tears are from sadness.

She was a great dog for our kids to grow up with. She died 3 years ago at the age of 11 from a deadly and common form of cancer among goldens. Our kids both came home from college to say their goodbyes. The plan is to spread her ashes at the local dog park but our daughter just hasn’t been ready to do that yet.

Getting something you’ve desperately wanted but are convinced you will never get is such a shock to the system. It taps into a reservoir that bursts when the desire is suddenly filled without warning. It also creates one of the most memorable moments in a person’s life. Ed