It's the fall of 2020, and I'm sitting at my desk in my home office writing code for a mobile app I've been building for a few months now. I've been home alone for several hours now, and I've got a ton of momentum going. If I can keep this going, today is going to be a big win.
Out of the corner of my eye I spot Champ, our 12-week-old golden retriever, strutting into my office looking at me with his already perfected puppy dog face. He wants a treat. "Not right now buddy". Gosh, maybe I should be spending more time with him. After all, it's the weekend, and he's new to this earth.
But, I've got work to get done. I can't lose this momentum.
Suddenly, his expression shifts to concern, and he starts dry-heaving.
Lunging out of my chair, I scoop him up under my right armpit like a football and bank a right out of the door of my office. The backdoor to the yard isn't far, just 10 strides away through the living room. I'm going to make it, he's not throwing up in the house this time.
I'm almost to the door. I plant my right foot down as I come off my last pivot around the fireplace, and now I'm falling backward with my legs kicking up in front of me. Pain shoots through my back as I feel that I'm in a puddle of something starting to soak my shirt. Looking up, I see a path of an oatmeal-y gew running up the wall. I sit up and look behind me on the floor to confirm my suspicions.
Yep. Right before I planted my right foot, Champ's vomit landed right where my foot was about to plant. Slipping on the puddle of puke, my right foot launched forward and kicked the gew all over the wall in front of me, as my momentum carried me forward just enough to land square in the middle of this pile of vomit on the floor. Champ managed to come out of the fall unscathed.
My pain is overcome with laughter. I've seen countless movies with silly family scenes where ridiculous things happen to the clumsy Dad, but this is my first time being on the clumsy old man side of the equation. I don't even have kids yet, just my guy Champ. I can't imagine how many more of these there are to come, but if this is what it's like, I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.
