Huffing and Puffing and Crying

So after a couple years of not seeing each other much between school and my crazy work schedule…Luke and I have started date nights twice a week. Last night was Luke’s night to decide what activity we’d be doing, so we went to see Marley & Me at the dollar theater. I’ve been excited to see this movie because, as you know, I love dogs! Probably more than children and most people. And it was a great movie! …Until the last half hour. Now, I figured, it’s the life story of a family dog, of course the dog is going to die in the end.

Oh. My. God. I have never cried so much at a movie in my whole life. Typically with animal deaths, i.e. Old Yeller, they pan off when the animal dies or make it very euphemistic. Not this one. They showed the dog’s health starting to deteriorate. They showed the owner taking him for his last walk, asking the dog to tell him when he’s ready to go. They show the kids and the wife saying goodbye as the guy drives him to the vet. They show him saying goodbye. They show the ENTIRE euthanasia, including the syringe draining into his IV and his eyes slowly closing. (I’m tearing up just thinking about this!) I was trying SO hard not to just go all out sobbing in the movie theater, and eventually did start sobbing AFTER the movie on the way home. As Luke said, “I don’t remember anything about that movie except that last scene.”

Now, the movie was really good, probably the most true-to-life movie I’ve seen, because they didn’t sugar-coat or exaggerate the complexities of life, love and family. They showed just how couples fight, just how they talk about what they’re going to do next in life. And it was really funny! I totally related to a lot of Marley’s antics with Charlotte and especially Hamlet. (I have one pair of nice heels left thanks to Char’s shoe fetish, one pair I didn’t even get to wear once!) It was a good show, and I highly suggest it, even though it will make you cry buckets. Needless to say, our next date night, which I get to plan, will include much happier activities. I think we’re going to do the night cache in Memory Grove park.

Now, I’ve got three days left before I’ve got to climb to the top of the Wells Fargo Building. I have not been to the gym in 3 weeks. I am going to completely fall over if and when I reach the top. If you’d like to come see said event, you can donate $5 to go to the top and enjoy a little buffet and raffle. Our team climbs at 9:05 in the morning on Saturday. Today, I’m headed to the gym and putting in some major time on that stair machine. I think Friday I’m going to climb the building next door, since you can’t practice climb in our building.

I think I’ll also put my new bike together and get outside, as it’s been unseasonably warm here. I don’t think I’ve ever had a birthday that was above 40 degrees in my 24 years of life. It’s funny…as a kid, getting a bike for your birthday is like the biggest thing in your juvenile life. I don’t think I’ve been on a bike since we lived in Englewood, which was about 12 years ago. Denver was one of the best places to ride, because we lived right next to the Platte river trail, and could ride clear out to Chatfield Dam…a 22 mile round trip. This year, I got a new bike from my parents, and plan to start riding it to work soon. It’d be nice to get back to the point where I could ride 22 miles and feel just a bit gelatinous afterwards in the legs, instead of falling off the bike at mile 10. There’s just so much freedom about a bike that’s not the same with a car. I’ve just realized that I’m probably not going to be able to go back to Tennessee for John’s graduation, as he unfortunately graduates in the middle of May sweeps. So, I’m thinking maybe I could round up the fam for a vacation to Yellowstone at the end of May, or just go with Luke for a weekend and ride our bikes around Yellowstone and finally break in that tent Mom and Dad got for us for our wedding two years ago (still never been out of the box…thank you KUTV for working me on weekends all last summer.)

Exciting exciting times…watch my show (which is officially mine next week) at 9am on KJZZ!!