TJ

A week after moving to Stillwater in early 2007, we picked up a 4 and 1/2 year old Samoyed named TJ and brought him to our new home, where he immediately peed on the wall. It was his home, just as much as it was ours. The people of the house have always made it run, but TJ was the heart of our home. This has made the last two days here particularly hard. After finding TJ in pain and distress on Thursday afternoon, we had to say a sad goodbye to the happiest member of our family.

When Nicole first learned his given name, she thought it was dumb and resolved to change it. But as soon as we were introduced to him, we knew he was definitely a TJ. Even though he had only just met us, he immediately jumped into the back of our open car and became a permanent part of our family. The goofiest dog we ever knew, who happened to be the sweetest one, too.

He was a constant companion. If Nicole could have changed his name, it probably would have been to Shadow. He followed her all over the house out of great concern. Not for her safety, but just so he knew she was there. Adam was primarily responsible for morning and evening meals and the twice daily walks that he required. We were both so important for him to feel comfort. I know for some families, a dog will attach to one person, but for TJ, he loved both of us equally. There is no way we loved him more than he loved us. The dog that would never bark for anything only barked when we arrived home from work and when he was separated too far away from us. He couldn't even handle having us in separate rooms, and would not relax until we were together. He cared so deeply for us. We gave him the best life possible, but were no match for how fully he gave his heart to us.

When you have built your life around someone, how do you go on without them? Our house has become so quiet now. There were so many reminders of him in our lives. The little clicks his nails made while trotting back and forth to check on us. His heavy breathing in our faces whenever he smiled. The soft whines he made to remind us he deserved his evening treat. The long and loud process of licking his paws that never started until Nicole and I were safely in bed. And the deep, satisfied snores he produced when he knew we were going to stay in one place long enough for him to finally get some rest. All these sounds used to be annoying, but now we miss them more than anything. A house that seemed small with a dog always in the way has suddenly become too big. 

TJ stayed with us long enough to enjoy the last snowstorm of this long winter. He ran and played in the snow on a Tuesday and said goodbye on Friday. He never liked being warm, which is why he left when he did. He chose a day to leave us so that Nicole and I would have the weekend to remember and grieve for him. For a dog that was unwilling to learn anything new, he was always thoughtful and considerate.

Our home is filled with wonderful memories and it should be no surprise that we literally have thousands of pictures of our furry friend. As trying as this sad ordeal has been, we have no regrets and are thankful to have had him in our lives for the time he gave us. Not a day went by for TJ without his favorite walks around the neighborhood, tasty treats, plenty of hugs and kisses, and words of praise and gratitude for his friendly spirit.

Soon we will have his ashes, and we can take him to a few of the places he loved most. But most of those ashes will always stay with us, so that he can always know where we are, and in that way can truly rest in peace.

April Snows

Winter dropped another half-foot of snow on us last week. This has become seriously depressing. At least we're not Duluth! ;-) They got closer to two feet of new snow.

Winter can't last forever, right? 

Cure for a Snowy Saturday

My tulips and daffodils were just beginning to emerge when we got another series of consecutive snow/slush days. In fact, it's snowing right now as I write this. Had I known that winter was going to drag on this long, I would have booked a trip to Florida ages ago. Longest winter ever! And it's not even that winter was so terrible this year. We didn't have that much snow and it wasn't too cold. We've just had the longest, most tedious streak of gray skies, daily precipitation, and temps hovering stubbornly in the thirties. What I wouldn't give for one sunny, 70 degree day! I'll even settle for 50 degrees and some partly cloudy.

Anyway, we needed to get out of the house, so we had a Minneapolis vacation day, starting with the delicious buns at Isles Bun and Coffee. I only regret that I didn't take more free icing. It's not like I need to worry about swimsuit season anytime soon.

Next up: the Bakken Museum, which - as luck would have it - was Nano Day AND Free Super Science Second Saturday. This was really a neat little museum. Adam loved it because it was full of crazy little science experiments to try out (generally for the kiddos), and I loved it because the collection is housed in a cool, old, historical gem of a house right off Lake Calhoun. Win win! I would have loved to have seen the gardens, but see paragraph one. They looked mighty impressive even under a dense layer of snow, so maybe we'll stop by sometime when it's warmer, like September.

I know it has been a life-long dream of Adam's to play the theremin, so I was glad he finally got his chance. 

Brain wave relaxation game. The one with the most "relaxed" brain waves moves the ball farther to the opposite corner to win. I don't know how I pulled out a 2-0 victory over Adam, but I feel like it's not a good thing. 

Because you know you've always wanted to try this at home...

After the Bakken Museum, we had lunch at the Smack Shack (lobster roll for Adam, fried green tomato po' boy for Nicole), then hit up our second museum of the day. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has an exhibition on Art in the Age of Truthiness that we had heard good things about. Once again, however, the meaning of art has confounded us. We lucked out in that we caught a travelling tour, so we picked up some behind-the-scenes knowledge. That helped immensely. The rest of the museum, as always, is awesome.

I think there is a lesson here.

Bonus Saturday adventure: on a whim, we bought tickets to War Horse. Yay! We're averaging one theater performance every 3-4 years, so we figured this was the one to catch. (And I let The Book of Mormon slip out of my grasp, not once, but twice, so we're definitely going to this one.)

60 Years of Marriage

We took another trip to South Dakota, this time to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Adam's grandparents, Wes and Donna Johnson. Although we missed out on the larger extended family gathering, Wes and Donna were able to visit with all of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren over the past few weeks. We traveled back for the Easter weekend festivities, which allowed us to visit with old high school friends. I got a bundle of great new stories about Adam that I had never heard before and could not have made up if I'd tried!

The weekend was sunny and lovely. Weather-wise, Minnesota simply can't compare to South Dakota, at least not this spring.

Lazy dog, soaking up the rays.

Adam, Sarah, Grandma Donna Johnson, Mark, and - oops! - sorry Renee!

Happy 60 Years!

A small typo on the cake. 

We discussed freezing it for the next five years, but folks be hungry now!

It was rather remarkable to see and hear the stories of 60 years together, especially the "how we met" story at the roller skating rink and the first years together sharing one small house with family. Also, there was an actual Ole and Lena couple in the family tree, which I find fascinating, especially since I have no Scandinavian roots but secretly wish I did!

Also remarkable was the number of cards, greetings, and well-wishes from everyone they knew in the Mitchell and Mount Vernon communities and beyond. At our visit, still several days before the actual anniversary, over 180 cards had already arrived. The postmaster couldn't fit any more in the mailbox! I can't think of a better example of a well-lived life than that.

We missed out on the Wisconsin and Colorado cousins this time, but we hope to catch them again soon.

South Dakota and  Minnesota cousins represent!

Another TJ-approved weekend!