Athena- Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Military Victory

I recently just got a puppy, an Akita, and decided on the name of Athena. The Greek goddess of war (military victory) and wisdom. She’s a smart puppy so far and extremely playful! I remember going up north way past Traverse City to get her, but previous to that as I was driving through Michigan I hit the biggest pothole I have ever encountered, which turned my tire into a deflated mess and left a small dent on my rim. I was also on my way to pick up a few things for the puppy, so that plan didn’t go as expected. I texted the breeder my problem, and he said it’s okay he would be there. He had three male pups and one female and the breeder told me someone was going to be there at 4pm to go see the female pup, and with a flat tire and time constraints I thought I was never going to get her. I went to some tire place, which seemed like the middle of nowhere and my tire wouldn’t even arrive until 2pm! That was three hours away, and I still had a 3-hour drive. I ubered my way to the pet shop, since I had a small amount of faith that the person may not show up on time. Then I ubered my way to Enterprise, because there was no way I was going to get there on time if I had to wait for my car to get fixed. Once I got into Enterprise, since I am an Indiana resident, they explained to me I needed a card that was associated with a big named bank. The only card I had was my hometown credit union bank, and I explained to him the situation of my tire and how I really wanted that puppy. Due to company policies, since Michigan insurance is ridiculously high too, I would not be getting that rental. To top it all off my phone died during the process and I had the charging cord with no wall adapter, so I asked the staff there (who by the way the gentleman there really wished he could have gotten me a rental, since he had a dog and understood) and no one had an adapter.

I proceeded to look around my surroundings, and low and behold RAIN! Great, I still kept up my hope that I would get my puppy so I jogged/walked to the nearest gas station. I bought a charger, and waited a few minutes and tried to plan out how I would get there, because if I waited until my car was fixed then I ran the possibility of not getting her due to being there at 5pm and the puppies were first come basis. I called the breeder and told him I may get there later than expected and he said, “It’s okay I’ll be home, and the guy might show up at 4pm.” I was slightly bummed at that moment and thought maybe it was not my opportunity at this time, and I told him I will still make the drive up there. As I was looking through my purse I couldn’t find my wallet, so my feelings of sadness disappeared because in that wallet was the exact money to go get the puppy. I had thoughts that I left it in the previous uber, then I immediately called Enterprise and thankfully the gentleman there told me, “Your wallet is right here on the counter where you left it.” I ran back to Enterprise and got my wallet, and ubered back to Wonderland Tires where I finally sat down and got to go online (free Wi-Fi provided along with coffee provided) and I vegged out.

I laughed at myself, because sometimes the problems we make all have various solutions and what’s important at times is that patience may also be the answer. Eventually 2pm came back around and I thanked the staff at Wonderland Tires, and I made my trip up north. Thankfully the other person couldn’t show up, so as I walked in admiring the playful fur ball who was pouncing and playing with the other dogs. I instantly fell in love, and everything I went through that day was definitely worth the effort. People can perhaps think, “Oh I’m sorry you had such a bad day.” On the flip side, I was thankful that I put in all my effort to get Athena, because when you work for something/someone the results are so much more worth it and I appreciated that I had hope that perhaps I would be able to get her, even though someone may have showed up. Having faith and hope can make a goal attainable when you keep going despite the problems that may arise. I learned a lot about patience that day, and when the going gets tough keep fighting through, so Athena was the perfect name for her.