Hindsight = 20/20

This past November my husband was traveling a lot. Corning Inc. was shipping him to their Kentucky plant 1-2 times a month. I don’t get bored easily, but I do get lonely coming home from work to an empty house. I told my husband that I wanted a cat. I figured a cat would be a good first pet for us. They’re easy and you can still have a really flexible schedule. Matt told me that we should wait to get a pet. I was like… wait for what?

Mid-December I bugged him so much about getting a cat that he gave in. I used my Christmas bonus to get a kitten from the Chemung County SPCA. As soon as I saw Freddy, a black and gray medium haired kitten, I loved him. We adopted him, and he’s great, completely insane, but great. The first time Matt took him to the vet, he wiggled out of his arms, jumped into the sink and peed (the vet said she’d never seen anything like it). He’s cute enough that we actually don’t get mad at him when he pounces on our faces at 3am, or tries to nurse on our earlobes.

For my birthday this year my husband told me he was planning a surprise activity and to keep that day open. If you know me, you know that surprises drive me insane. I usually try to figure them out, and if I do, it totally doesn’t ruin it for me. I just get more excited. Matt then dropped hints that we might be going ice fishing. Nonchalantly one evening he said “Tell me the truth, have you figured out what we’re doing on your birthday?” and I was like “Ice Fishing?” He just smiled and I assumed I had figured it out. As the date grew closer I kept checking the weather. The forecast showed that the high on my birthday would be about 10 degrees. I finally told Matt and I just didn’t feel like freezing my butt off on my birthday. He said “Well… I still want to take a trip up to that way. It’s a pretty drive and we can stop at the cheese factory in Cuba.” I have to admit, my attitude really sucked that morning. He was rushing me to get ready and I kept wondering why the heck my husband would think it was a good idea to take me to a cheese factory on my birthday?

I sat in the car for two hours, reading my book in silence. Sneaking a dirty look at Matt from time to time. We pulled in at a farm. I looked up at the barn and it said Hatch Valley Farm on the side. I knew that name, somehow, but I couldn’t place where I had heard it. I was completely confused. Matt turned to me and said “Do you know where we are?” Then it hit me. Just that week I had just googled the phone number of a dog breeder we had met with back in September and all I had turned up was “Hatch Valley Farm” and an address. I was trying hard not to cry because I have the sweetest husband in the world, and I am the biggest jerk in the world. He took me inside to meet Guin the Old English Sheepdog, the cutest puppy I have ever seen.

After the shock of him putting one over on me wore off I realized that Guin was born the week after I talked my husband into letting me get Freddy. I turned to him and said “You already had this planned when I begged for Freddy, didn’t you?” He grinned and said “I’ve been planning this for four months.” Ugh, I am such an idiot. I always screw up my husband’s greatest surprises. (One time we both bought Coldplay tickets to surprise the other.)

Anyway, I am blessed. My Matty is thoughtful, loving, and kind to me when I’m a complete jerk. Hopefully Frederick and Guinevere become great friends.