Ah, then the sun came out

....NO, I'm not talking about it finally getting (and staying) above zero here. I'm a hardy, born and bred Minnesotan. I sort of revel in the fact that I have the gear and the wherewithal to withstand these types of temps. However, over a week? Even my patience is wearing thin. And the dogs, my poor puppies. Black Dog just isn't built for this type of weather. He shivers, he pathetically holds up one paw. He sits and has enough balance to lift his front two paws off the ground and looks feeble. He then won't move, even to go inside, because then he would have to touch even more snow. He's too big to carry, so I usually have to resort to bribery to get him to move. Yellow Dog even is more expeditious when she's outside, and will even engage in the feeble one paw lift. Don't suggest booties. I tried them a couple of years ago. Yellow Dog got them off in about 45 seconds, and I didn't find one of the four until spring (the sneak put it in a snowdrift). Black dog will tolerate a coat, but I swear that I see Yellow Dog laughing at him. Poor thing, not only does she assert her dominance on a regular basis, but she laughs at him too.

The sun that I am talking about about is Son. Yesterday, he did the best thing that he could have done for a stressed out, cranky, work-hating mommy. I walked into daycare and he was playing with the rest of the big kids in the large muscle area. He saw me (uh-oh) and proceeded to put away the fire truck that he was playing with, as he had been told by one of the teachers. He then did the most amazing thing. He turned, smiled that smile that lights up everything, and ran to me!!!!!! He hasn't done this in ages, and my God, it felt so incredibly good. I was able to hug him, and he showed me the little Tonka truck that he had grabbed. He has no idea how much that meant to me. Probably never will. Yet another one of those moments where I wish that I could be certain that I would forever be able to see that look and feel that little body against me. Good grief, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.