January 4, 2005

 

            In forty-eight hours we pack the car and hit the road!  We haven’t even left and already the last few months have been quite a trip.  Stamp qualified for the nationals in May, and followed that up in July by becoming incapacitated from Lyme disease.  Between the Lyme disease and some serious budget crunches we largely had to stop training for a while, and greatly reduced our trialing schedule.  When Stamp got back into the ring his performances were not terrific, he went through a streak of never double Q-ing, and his Q’s when he did manage to pull everything together, were rather lack-luster.  At the same time we were struggling to figure out how in the world we could even afford to go to the nationals.  In the realm of real problems in the world all this is pretty minor, but things were not looking so good for us.

 

            Thanks to the amazing support of friends and family, we were able to plan a terrific trip to the nationals.  Loans and gifts of camping equipment, gas cards, food, and much more have come pouring in.  Stamp, doing his bit, managed three double Qs in very limited trialing this Fall, and his times, for the most part, are starting to get back to normal.  Right now we are overwhelmed with the last minute details before departure, but soon we’ll be on the road!  Tomorrow night we are going, along with Shelley and her PBGV Flora Kate, to a party given by Animal Planet and the AKC.  That will be a fun send-off!

           

            So far it looks as though the AKC is really trying to make the event a pleasant occasion for all the exhibitors.  I had a bit of worry when I got word that each exhibitor was only allowed to bring one family member into the restricted zone, since both kids are traveling with me, but I explained the situation to Sharon Anderson and was assured that both kids would be allowed in. 

 

The only ‘less than ideal’ encounter I’ve had with the AKC about the nationals involves my kids attempting to volunteer at the trials.  After receiving preliminary confirmations from the volunteer coordinator in early November, we heard nothing.  In late December we went out and bought the navy blue pants that volunteers are required to wear.  Having still not heard from the coordinator by New Year’s eve, we emailed and were told that actually the kids were not needed as volunteers, thanks anyhow.  That really irks me because if I hadn’t emailed I still wouldn’t know.  I also feel that if volunteering requires purchasing special clothing, then those people who are not being used should be told as soon as possible so they don’t spend the money.  Both my kids were terribly disappointed, as they had really been looking forward to volunteering.  At least if they had had more warning, perhaps a ‘thank you so much for offering but…’ kind of letter, but this was just a real downer.

 

Enough griping.  We are all three thrilled to be going on this trip, friends, family, and even people we’ve never met have gone out of their way to help us, and we are planning to have a blast!!