Isaac's birthday and a three-legged dog

I've got some posts to catch up with. We've been on vacation all week (more on that later), and the most notable thing to occur was son Isaac's 33rd birthday Tuesday.

I really wish we could have been there this year more than most. It sounds like it was quite the time - and not in a good way.

First off though... the boy and his bride are still living in Atlanta. He is in the process of writing his doctoral dissertation. He hopes to be done sometime this summer/fall, and then begin looking for a teaching job. I think he's mostly been busy writing chapters, trying to get some articles/papers published, applying for grants, as well as TA-ing a class at Emory here and there. Most recently I believe he TA-d a Pastoral Care class. He does have one class lined up to teach at Columbia Theological Seminary this fall (Intro to Ethics).

We continue to be quite proud of his work and accomplishments, and look forward to his book. You probably want to know what all the excitement was around his birthday though, don't you??

Well, we called the boy on his birthday, and he was in somewhat of a panic. Apparently one of their dogs (Tig) blew out it's achilles tendon. Ricci was gone, and Isaac was there by himself to try to find an emergency care facility and take the dog there. At first they were considering surgery to repair the tendon, but they were finally advised it would be best to simply amputate. I guess the recovery is much better/faster/easier and after a few days most dogs completely adapt. There's also not a great success rate with repair. So they had that done and Tig is home struggling more with the cone than the missing leg.

Anyway, I'm sure the dog will be fine, but I felt bad for Isaac because he has always been so tender-hearted, and I imagine it was a difficult time for him. So, I'm missing the Georgia Horwedels this year more than most. We seem to see them less and less anymore. I hope we can see them some this summer.

***

Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you
    and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord turn his face toward you
    and give you peace.”