Dark Cloud

There was a bit of a dark cloud, both literally and figuratively, hanging over today. This afternoon, Michael had to participate in a deposition, as part of the case surrounding the death of his friend Collin. Collin passed away in 2008 and I am glad to see that the legal side of things is finally moving forward and may soon come to an end. I knew that Michael wasn't necessarily looking forward to giving his statement, but he knew this day would come and I think he felt prepared going into it. When he came home though, after a long day of work and the 2 hour deposition, I could tell he was mentally and emotionally drained (even though he did his best to brush it all off). When he walked in the door, our conversation went as follows:

D: "How did it go?"

M: "It was OK. Wasn't as bad as I thought, but still wasn't pleasant."

D: "Do you wanna talk about it?"

M: "Nope" (as he headed upstairs to change his clothes)

D: "OK...Dinner's almost ready"

I didn't want to pry, even though I was very curious. I wanted to know more about his feelings on how it went, who all was there, if he was treated fairly by the defense's lawyer, if he kept his cool...

When he reemerged, in a comfy T-shirt and pajama pants, he headed straight for Zoey, and a smile quickly returned to his face!

After a bit of playing, they both needed a rest.

Catching a second wind!

(Zoey's got the iconic Dirty Dancing lift down!)

Planting a kiss on his favorite girl

More fun on the Daddy Jungle Gym!

She's got quite a grip, that little one!

As many questions as I have about his afternoon, I don't intend to ask them any time soon. I know he relives that painful September 2008 day enough, outside of a formal deposition with strangers asking him to share every tragic detail. Maybe one day he'll feel like sharing, but until then, I'll just continue to thank God for our precious Zoey and the power she has to brighten even the saddest day.