Just a baby

 

It is a cool October morning; you wrap him in an orange receiving blanket and take him home. He is just a baby.

Once home the first order of business is to introduce him to the cocker spaniel.

He inspects him carefully from one end to the other, more fascinated with the end with the diaper on than the rest.

He is just a baby.

Finally he is welcomed with several sloppy doggy kisses and fully accepted as a younger brother.

There is love to share even it if means some pulled ears because he is just a baby.

There will be time in years to come when there will be sticks to fetch and goodies dropped from the high chair, but for today, he is just a baby.

In what seems an incredibly short period of time, he has his first day of school. He thinks he is quite the big boy now, but to his Mom and Dad and the Cocker Spaniel, he is still just a baby.

The time comes to learn to ride a bike. Training wheels are offered as an option, but immediately refused; after all he is a big boy now and not just a baby.

Years pass, the baby gets older, wiser and stronger, the cocker spaniel has slowed down a step or two, he has reached his senior years.

The boy takes on the enormous responsibility of caring for an ill and ageing cocker spaniel with such tenderness and devotion it is difficult to finally realize he is no longer just a baby.

The terrible day arrives where the inevitable discussion must finally take place. The cocker spaniel is very old now, he can no longer hear, he has cataracts on his eyes and he has lost control of his bladder.

The baby is consulted.. what do you think is the right thing to do? Rocky (the cocker spaniel) is old and very sick and probably in a lot of pain. Should we just wait and let him continue to suffer, or should we be merciful and intervene by ending his life humanely?

The boy .. the young man … the baby is faced with a grown up decision.

He decides that the merciful thing to do would be to end Rocky’s suffering.

The Dad volunteers to take Rocky to the Vet and handle the matter. The boy, the young man the baby insists on being there until the very end.

This young man, not quite in his teens, holds Rocky in his arms until he breathes no more. He is courageous beyond his years, stroking the animal, petting him and speaking lovingly to him until the very end. It is then than the baby in all of us surfaces, the tears and the sadness. It is then that the baby comforts the adults, reassuring us we have done the right thing and that Rocky is no longer in pain.

The baby in the orange receiving blanket who came home on a cool October morning is now an adult. He has managed to graduate with honors from the University of Notre Dame, was a highly respected member of an advertising firm in New York City and now owns his own business, is married to a beautiful woman who is an Executive Chef.

The Dad visits and is totally awestruck at his achievements. Despite all the physical changes down through the years, he can’t help but remember that little helpless creature on the floor being inspected and approved 32 years ago by Rocky the cocker spaniel.

Happy birthday Shane! Now how about providing me a grandchild before I get too old to enjoy him!