We'll Miss You, Buddy!

RIP Nudget

Wow! Sorry I've been M.I.A. for so long. I thought having less kids in the daycare this summer would mean more time for blogging... WRONG! We have been SO busy! There's no way I can cover everything, but I'll give you a recent update as soon as I can! However, this post is dedicated to something else.

First things first... on Sunday, we returned from our two and a half week vacation to visit family and friends and also to take a little family vacation. (I promise to get a post up ASAP about this trip and more). We had a great time, even though the trip started with a VERY ROUGH night.

We left on a Wednesday after Steve worked a half day. We had a 6 hour drive to Albuquerque, NM. I packed up the van before Steve got home and once he got home, we loaded up the kids, the dog, ourselves, and started our very exciting adventure. We made it to Albuquerque around 8pm. We took the kids into the hotel and Steve went back out to get Nudget, our pug, and the luggage. Steve came back to the room empty handed and asked me to come outside. He told me Nudget had died. :( I at first thought he was joking and was a little upset... how could he joke about that? But then I realized Steve would never joke about something like that! I didn't know how to react. We were all just in the car together. How did we not know? Nudget was travelling in his crate, but he's done that before. How? Why? What are we going to tell Page? What are we going to do? We're hundreds of miles from home or family!!!

First, let me say... Steve was AMAZING! I, only the hand, was a wreck!!! I don't think I could hav handled it all, but Steve took care of everything.

A little back story... Nudget was MY pug. He was the first dog I ever really had that was mine. Sure, our family had dogs growing up, but we lived on a farm, so they weren't indoor dogs or just one of our dogs. Nudget was MY dog. Steve gave him to me for our first Christmas together, almost 10 years ago. He was EXACTLY what I wanted. I told Steve I wanted a fawn, male, pug. And that's exactly what Nudget was. Steve paid a pretty penny for him, too. Anyway, before we had kids, Nudget was my baby.

Back to my original story. So, before going back into the room with the kids, I told Steve to just take care of it... whatever that meant. Get rid of the crate and everything, the less Page saw (and me, too honestly), the better. Steve was awesome and took care of EVERYTHING. He and Nudget had a very love/hate relationship (Steve really did love Nudget, but also loved to hate him). Steve now says that Nudget chose his timing to screw Steve over one last time. Hahaha But Steve talked to the people at the hotel and they helped him with Nudget and all his stuff. They were really great and sweet, Steve said. That's all that matters. It wasn't ideal, but as Steve kept telling me, it was just his body, his spirit was in our memories.

When Steve returned, it was then time to talk to Page. She knew something was going on, because as much as I tried to not cry, I couldn't keep the tears in completely. I, at this time, was already seeking comfort from my best friend, Vicki, and sister-in-law, Danielle... knowing they were both still up. They helped me through the initial shock and calmed me down before Steve got back (he had enough to deal with) and we had to talk to Page.

Page was so mature about it (for a 3 year old). We told her that Nudget was very old and he got sick. We told her Daddy took Nudget to the doggy hospital and he had to stay there with them and they are taking good care of him. She is clearly too young to understand death and we can't use the "he went to live on farm" explanation since my parents live on a farm and we would be there in a couple days. She accepted and said she would really miss him but was happy he was being taken care of. She still talks about him and how she misses him daily, but she's such a trooper. Steve and I stayed up almost all night talking and reminiscing about our first "baby".

He was such a good boy and we loved him more than anyone could imagine.

Nudget, we will miss you so much and you can never be replaced. You will always hold a VERY special place in my heart. Thank you for being the most adorable, kind, loving, and playful dog. WE LOVE YOU!!!