We're here!

Phew! It seemed like such a far-off dream, but here we are! We started the day off at church, where our pastor led the congregation in a send-off prayer for us. We are so grateful to have so many people praying for us! After church, we stopped for lunch, then hit the highway. We had absolutely beautiful weather for driving and Silas was such a good little boy. We were in the car a good four hours, since we swung by 4 Paws to make sure we knew how to get there tomorrow.

We got to our hotel, but the room was not ready, so we hung out in the lobby and ended up meeting another family here for 4 Paws! That was a big positive point in our day. It's so fun to connect with the other families, especially when we are going through such a unique and amazing experience together. We are finding that a lot of the moms and dads are teachers like Mike and I.

When our room was ready, we hustled in and unloaded all our gear. Before we knew it, it was time for another positive point our day, meeting Abbot's foster mom, Beth! We met Beth for dinner and she brought along her latest foster, Socrates. That was a good sample of what dining out with a service dog will be like. (Pretty much the same as on your own, except you have a cuddly foot-warmer under the table!) Socrates was so good with the children who wanted to pet him while we waited for a table. Si is a big tail-petter, which not all dogs find acceptable, but Socrates took it all in stride. Speaking of making things look easy, Beth is sooo good! She is currently fostering her fourth dog for 4 Paws. She has got the subtle corrections down and handles a crowded room with ease. It was so sweet of her to come meet us. She will also be at graduation, and I hope and pray we make her proud! We are so grateful for all the time and love she and her family gave to Abbot!

Here is a picture of Socrates just chilling in the waiting area of Red Robin:

We hated to say goodbye to Beth and "Soc"! We got in the car and Si said, "Beth . . . my house. Dog . . . my house." But we will have lots of stories to share when we see her in two weeks.

After dinner, we hustled back for Si's nightly meds and bath. He is excited to go "night night" in a hotel and have a TV in his room. We told him tomorrow morning he can watch a show in his bed, so he is looking forward to that. Of course, that will pale in comparison to the moment he meets his Abbot!!!

Speaking of beds, mine is calling. Thanks for reading! More tomorrow!