There's No Place Like Home

Today I went back to work after our three week break, and I have to say, it was a nice return. The kids were happy to be back to school (one of the reasons I love Pre K) and my teaching partner and I were both well rested and refreshed as well. I got some very exciting news last night that made it a bit hard to go to sleep, but I still managed to wind down and realize that this is the first time I've been excited to go back to school in about a year. Still, it was hard to leave the dogs behind this morning. Hawk and Lilac are older and I worry about them a little. Blueberry likes to have her own bit of time together, but she really prefers to be with people on her own terms. Bunny, however, practically held on to my leg and begged me not to go. It was a sad sight to be sure.

Still, the best part about going back to work today was coming home tonight. There's nothing like the greeting of happy hounds at the back door. I got fanfare from the kids at school when they saw me to be sure, but it was nothing like coming home to loyal hounds who were elated by my return. The girls ran to greet me at the back door, tails wagging and feet tap dancing on the linoleum while Hawk barked at me from the living room.

They all have their own little rituals. Blueberry has to be the first at the back door, her head wobbling like a little bobble head, always waiting to be the first one spoken to and petted. Lilac stands on the step, ears raised to inquisitive half mast as she barks a deep bark that would make any robber wet his pants, even though what she's really saying is "I've been waiting all day for you!" She bats her big brown eyes and waits for me to scratch her behind the ear. Bunny holds back, but then can't contain herself any longer. She pushes her way through to get to me, sometimes walking under Blueberry if she has to. Then she stands before me, all wiggles until I pet her, then she's off like a shot through the kitchen to the living room. Hawk barks at me and then I let him out and he runs a half circle around me, pausing to lean his large frame against my leg and gaze up at me with his soulful eyes. Then Bunny explodes in her little dance of joy, running around the living room, over the couch and pausing there, begging me to sit down for just a second so she can press herself as close to me as possible and twisting herself like a pretzel so that she can lean her body against me and have her belly rubbed at the same time.

Of course, this only lasts for a few minutes and then the fanfare is over. The demands for bathroom breaks and dinner ensue and I'm relegated back to my status as servant to the hounds. Still, it's all worth it for those golden moments of arrival!