A Happy Memory

I had to write a happy memory for English class so, here it is.

I sighed, looking up at the large pile of notebooks and folders that were stuffed into the cabinet that housed our school supplies. School started in a few weeks and I hadn’t even begun to figure out what I needed. Pulling a stack of papers and other assorted things off a shelf, I began to leaf through it, creating pile of things to save, things to throw ways, and, of course, things to use again. In the background, I had Pandora Radio playing and I hummed mindlessly to the tune of whatever song was currently on. It was the summer before 8^th grade and I was in no hurry to return to school and face my last year before high school. I had just recently come back from Germany and I was enjoying spending the summer with my dog and my friends. By the time I finished sorting through everything, I was in full-on organizational mode. Still missing a few things that I knew I had, I started sorting through my cubby and drawer in the mudroom. I pulled everything out of my drawer and dumped it on the ground, creating a mess of roller-blade pads and knapsacks and hair accessories. For good measure, I pulled the basket containing my winter stuff down as well and emptied it out on top of the contents of my drawer. I looked up as I heard the clicking of claws come my way.

“Hey boy,” I said, greeting my golden retriever Moby as he approached me slowly.  Moby yawned in response, it was nearly midnight and he was ready for bed. He curiously eyed the assortment of objects on the floor and then looked at me as if to say, “What is all this?” I laughed and scratched him under the chin before turning my attention back to the pile in front of me.  Moby wandered away and lay down in the hallway with a sigh, knowing that it would be a long time before I took him upstairs to go to bed. A lot of the stuff I went through was junk or other knick-knacks and so I placed them in their respective places. The beaded, sparkly headbands went in my hair container along with some cloth scrunchies and flower clips. The junk went in the garbage, the single gloves started to form a pile. Somewhere, near the bottom of the stack, I came across a zip-lock bag labeled “Moby”. Inside it was a small, blue-striped collar with a label attached to it. “Moby’s first collar,” I read aloud. Looking at it made me smile, we had gotten Moby when he was seven months old, almost full-grown.  His breeder had held him back for breeding but as Moby’s teeth developed, it became clear that he had a quite prominent under bite so his breeder neutered him and put him up for sale. My dad found him online and within a week we took him home.

“Moby,” I called, looking across the room at him. I waited or him to come trotting over before I spoke again. “This is your old collar, boy. Should we see if it fits?” Moby grinned and wagged his tail excitedly which I took as a yes.  I unbuckled the collar he was wearing and put it down, picking up the old collar in the process. Moby stepped forward as soon as he saw the collar, eager for me to put it on. That dog was sure funny, he loved to have his collar put on, as soon as he saw you lift it he would come bounding across the room, tail all a-wag, happy grin on his face. I slipped my hands beneath his neck and brought the collar around it, interested in seeing the result. The collar was too small for him; the fabric didn’t cover about four inches of his soft, golden fur and it was showing.

 “Aw, my big boy is all grown up.” I crooned to him, putting his old collar down and refastening his current one. I didn’t know why but my eyes started to tear up, water forming in their corners. I hugged him and kissed him on the top of his head. “You’re all grown up.” I told him. “You’ve gotten so big.”

Moby just smiled and wagged his tail in response.

“I love you.” I ruffled his ears and smiled at him with teary at him.  I had no idea why I was reacting like I was, he was only three, barely older than a pup and yet I was already mourning over how old he was getting. Moby walked past me into the mudroom and started nosing at the piles of stuff. I didn’t mind, I knew he wouldn’t mess anything up.

“Hey, how come only your collar is in here?” I asked him, wondering aloud. Pulling another drawer out, I looked down at a bright red leash that we no longer used because he had almost chewed through it in so many places that one walk would break it. Folding the leash up, I put it in the bag with the collar. Also in the drawer was a black twenty-foot long lead that was missing the part that clipped onto a collar. My dad had tied up Moby with it before we got a fence while he was doing yard work and in five minutes flat the clever golden had managed to chew through the tight woven, thick material and happily bounded up to my dad, trailing a little black string behind him. I put that in the bag as well, smiling at the memory. Next to where the lead had been was Moby’s winter coat. I picked it up and looked at it, fixing a few straps so that it looked better. I felt a wet nose snuffle at my foot and I looked down to see Moby nudging my foot. When he noticed that I noticed him, his eyes lit up and he looked hopefully at the coat.

“Do you want to try it on?” I asked him and his tail sped up in response.  I slipped the black fabric over his head and pulled it down onto his neck, velcroing it under his stomach.  He stopped wagging his tail and looked at me to take it off.  “A bit hot, isn’t it?” I commented, undoing the straps. “Not quite your style either.” Once I got it around his neck, I spoke again. “Pull out of it, would you.” Moby did as he was asked and pulled his head out of the garment, giving it a happy shake once he was free. I smiled down at him and kissed him on the head. He simply grinned at me and yawned again.

I finished organizing, smiling all the while. I took Moby outside and then we both went up to bed. That memory has been permanently etched into my mind. Its one of the last times I remember being completely and totally happy for a long stretch of time.

Author's Note

What do you think? Anything I can change/improve? I don't have to submit this, I just have to write it.