We went to meet a rescue dog today, a potential new member of our family. The jury is still out on whether we’ll take her or not. The girls did great, especially given the 90 minutes in the car each way to get there and back.

Probably the most remarkable thing about the whole activity was Siena’s reaction. She behaved like she normally does, which is to say, she pet the dog, gave it a few hugs, and generally wanted to do a running race with me or have me jump with her or swing her around. But at the end of our time meeting the dog, as we said goodbye to the dog and her foster parents, Siena started crying. We asked what was wrong, and she said that she thought the dog was coming home with us, and she really wanted the dog to come home with us, and she loved the dog, and “I really want a dog.” She was really very sad.

Siena had never really seemed shaken up by Nalia’s death. I don’t think anyone, especially Siena, realized how much she was missing Nalia, and it took a session with another big fluffy dog and the anticipation of getting another dog to really bring out her feelings.

After getting home, Mama made homemade mac-n-cheese, and all was right with the world. Now we are just trying to figure out whether that is the right dog for us.