A Man By Any Other Name

is not Cowboy.

I wish words were enough.

Words are not enough, but here's a story about my amazing man.

Cowboy has a dog named Bruiser (and I am not changing his name to protect the innocent). He's a two year old boxer, so he's probably still like a puppy. (Keep in mind, I am not a dog person, but I really really like Cowboy, so I am making an effort)

So, first time I went to visit Cowboy in OKC, I took a day off, and went for a run. When I came back, in an herculean effort to make friends with Bruiser, I decided to take him for a walk. Yes, I know. HUGE effort. It seemed to go well, once I was able to get him out the front door... not kidding.

That evening, we were relaxing on the couch, and I heard Cowboy say, "Oh, Bruiser." I looked over and there was Bruiser, gnawing happily on one of my brand new ankle boot/shoes.


(picture in black)

I had worn them twice, and they were a huge deal for me, because I don't spend money on clothes or shoes, etc. And they were on the sale rack, so the chances of them having another pair in my size seemed fairly remote. However, they're just a material possession, and am I going to let that determine my outlook on anything related to Cowboy? (This is the inner working of my brain in the five seconds after seeing the boot and wondering how to respond).

Because I knew Bruiser was still young, I had made a conscientious effort to put the boots in Cowboy's closet - I thought he had said something about Bruiser chewing shoes before, and I didn't want to be a casualty, nor did I want to tempt Bruiser.
So, I went back to check on the location of the other boot, and it was in his closet.

When I came back into the living room, Cowboy had his laptop out, and I figured he was looking at some football stats or something. Then he said, "What size?" And I looked over and he had found my boots on the department store website. I was shocked, and he held up my boot and said, "The brand name was on the bottom."

In five minutes he had ordered my boots, had them shipped to my house, and closed his laptop. Just like that.

I didn't even know what to say. I was, actually, speechless.

Was it the "right thing" for him to do? Well, yeah. But, how many people would do the right thing, and "just like that?" (imagine a finger snap as I'm saying that)

And when I said thank you (I KNOW - lame response), he said, "Well, that's what you do when your dog chews up someone's shoe."

No, Cowboy, that's what YOU do... here's what I would have heard from any other man person... "Do you need those EXACT shoes?" "How new are they?" "Well, maybe we can find something similar at Payless" or... a truly generous person... "Ok - you find them, get them and give me the receipt and I'll reimburse you."

You see? I am SO NOT EXAGGERATING when I say, "Cowboy is the most amazing man I've ever met."

Okay, friends - tell me a memory you have of when your special person did something that left you KNOWING he/she was certainly "a cut above the others" for you.