An old dirty SUV pulls up in the driveway, its Elena little Martin’s abuelita. The newest member of Janelle’s family, he is a little yippy pup makes a lot of noise but not much of a talker. But that might be because that runs in the family being quiet, except when it’s time to sing. Janelle was really nervous about today as it was last minute her Uncle and Aunt had to leave town they won a trip to LA for the season finally of their favorite series. It was the culmination of so many feelings.

Just a few months ago she went to the country to visit the even larger extended family (grandparents’ sisters and brothers) and she saw all her cousins with their own families and all the new little pups in the extended family. Janelle felt odd as this was the most pups she had been around since high school when she entertained becoming a teacher and volunteering at the local daycare center, however she was overwhelmed with a need to wrangle all the little pups and make sure they didn’t get too bored while the elders yapped on-an-on, as the weekend went on she noticed that she got a few odd looks from the extended family however she was too busy with the pups. Janelle was too focused on playing catch with Gillam, dolls with Maria, and superman Magharit and any other games all the pups came up with. It wasn’t until after she returned to town that her Godmother, Jean’ne, thanked her for all the help with the pups that Jean’ne told her all the cousins were jokingly calling her Nana J-lee, and all the elders wouldn’t stop talking about the fact that Janelle was single and pupless. Janelle was left a little stunned as she never really thought of having family as she was so focused on school and education that it never crossed her mind. She felt very mixed at what her family thought of her, her heart ached a little at the thought of an imaginary pup of her own but at the same moment she felt a pang of hopelessness when thinking of how difficult it was making a living at her current job after 5 years and an advance degree.

So when her favorite uncle, who was like an older brother to her, asked her to help Martin’s abuelita while he and Martin’s mother were out of town. Since it was her favorite uncle she didn’t hesitate and said yes, but after agreeing to help out she froze with nerves not thinking what she signed up for. Martin was just a few months from his second birthday and at almost every opportunity Janelle went out of her way to see the little pup ever since he was born. She was the first cousin to hold him as a newborn, and after his mother and father Janelle was the only other person he called by name and not baby gibberish. She was TiTi J-Lee and was the first one he would run to at family gatherings. But this time she would be watching the little pup through the entire day and make him lunch and dinner, and watch him the entire day. When that old Escape of Abuelita Elena showed up Janelle’s nerves raced and all the comments of Janelle’s family raced through her head. Though all that nervousness and doubt disappeared when she heard little Martin shout TiTi J-Lee reaching out for a hug; in those few words Janelle’s heart skipped a beat and she was overcome with hope. The day just went by a blur they spent the nearly the entire day outside naming tree, flowers, and animals; and Martin would get pretty close to saying the name right and each time was a celebration. Though Janelle was almost brought to tears when little Martin said Bougainvillea correctly and grabbed a flower to give to her. The day was a joy and blur soon enough Abuelita Elena showed up in her old Escape and the day was over.

The day left Janelle at a lost, it was so much fun but she felt such a pang that she was missing something but at that point she would remember her job and that there would be no way to raise a pup.