Dani had been working her butt off all month to pay off the repairs she’d needed on her car, and it felt like she’d hardly seen her baby at all. But today was the first day of her two weeks of paid vacation from the clinic, and although she only worked at the shelter twice a week, she’d gone ahead and taken the time off from them as well. She planned to spend as much time as she could with her son. Climbing out of her door, she went to the back of the car first and grabbed the dogs’ leashes. Both of them nearly bolted away from her in their excitement to see the green grass, but she quickly got control of them and went to pull Noah out of the car. First, she struggled to get him into his warm, puffy jacket and mittens; then she placed his little knit cap with bear ears on top of his head. Finally, balancing him on her hip, she grabbed the diaper bag, and now that she was officially loaded up like a pack mule, she kissed Noah’s cheek. “You ready to play?” “Yay! Play!” Once they were safely on the grass, Dani let Noah down to walk beside her and the dogs.
