The couch and loveseat have been moved back about a foot.

The coffee table, with us through kids, grandkids, dogs, and cats, will live in another room for now.

Everything has been cleared down to the terra-cotta red tile. I still love this vibrant color, even after looking at it under my feet for 34 years.

A portable wire fence has been carefully placed around the perimeter of this room. It’s a cozy room, like so many others found in homes like mine.

A plant placed in the corner, getting ample light from the window. A fireplace where pictures of my mom and my husband’s mom grace the mantle. An interesting-looking clock, chosen years ago and loved to this day. An arched mirror that matches the arch in the fireplace, and the arch in the dividing wall next to the fireplace. A big-screen TV that we would have never chosen ourselves but was won in a sales contest years ago. “Shall we keep it, Kath?” “Umm…sure, why not,” I said to him.

The character of the room has changed. Its function is sacred now. Room has been appointed guardian of Nina, our new Border Collie pup who came home with us today. Room has now become a heavenly nursery for this little one.

She is tiny. A black and white ball of frenetic fluff. Just barely nine weeks old. She was third born in a litter of four. She has a small black dot on the right side of her little white nose. Those angel people who helped birth her named her Dot Girl. The name that would always be temporary.

We named her Nina, after the magnificent Nina Simone, and one of our favorite journalists, Nina Totenberg. Nina. It has a nice feel in the mouth when we call to her.

It’s funny how you can fall so deeply in love so quickly.

I watch her sleeping, black and white fur against the red tile floor, and tears fill my eyes. She is precious. She is fragile, yet so courageous and self-assured. She is in our safekeeping now.

I pray that I can be the best doggie mom any pup has ever had. I pray she will have a full and happy life.

Thank you, Room, for holding her in your arms. She will soon be navigating this big world. But for now, she’s safe with you.

~