A day...

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New ground rules.

You may not take me to the groomers to get a bath on Monday followed by a haircut Tuesday AND getting my teeth cleaned.

One trauma per day please.

Are we clear??

When one doggy door closes...

I might be in the minority, but I think this is great.  Less work = more time to play with Miss Gracie Joy.  What’s the problem? The way I see it, we have less obligations, less stress, and an increased availability to romp at the park.  Win-win situation! No? What’s that? Ah, right…those grown-up piddly concerns of bills to pay and gas money.  My bad.  Ok, so perhaps not all is rosy. But still, let’s keep some perspective.  There’s more time for her to do her own writing which always makes her smiley, more opportunity to write about things she’s actually interested in, and more chances for snuggling with me.  So yes, I get it.  Less work might not be the greatest news, but still…when one doggy door closes…

Plus don’t forget…the world is well managed.

Holy days

I keep hearing all of this chatter about the holy days…groans of how they’re almost here, how hard they are, and mutters of family time accompanied by shudders.  What is it about these holy days that gets everyone in a tizzy? Does it depend on what religion you are? Because in our house, there’s no muttering or groaning, but there’s also no decorations or party invitations covering the fridge.  There’s no extra obligations or family events, no long lists of gifts to buy or requisite cards to send out.  

So maybe we’re missing something, but it seems like the country is taking a collective whining session and I’m not clear what the problem is. 

They are holy days…and by definition they should be exempt from complaining and stress.  Perhaps that’s the problem. There’s so much pressure to have an amazing time that it ends up backfiring.  Kind of like my birthday when it’s my one extra-special day all about me (as if that’s so different from my daily life – yeah right!) and I’m supposed to have a fabulous, perfect, wonderful day.  Well that’s a lot of pressure and usually it’s just a normal day with some gifts and cards thrown in and maybe an extra trip to the park.  

It’s all about expectations.  When I don’t know it’s my birthday, lacking my own iphone or calendar, my birthday is great because I don’t even know when it is! But once it’s all built up and the specialness factor is in play, then expectations soar and we’re in trouble. 

I think it’s the same with the holy days.  Maybe if no one knew it was December, and the 25^th, new years, and those roving Hanukkah days rolled around without anyone’s knowledge, they would just be sweetly ordinary and everyone would relax.  Maybe if there weren’t expectations about the ideal family sitting down to the perfectly cooked meal and everyone being blissfully happy, the stress factor would plummet.  Maybe if new years were a time to self-reflect and cuddle with loved ones minus the flashy parties and fancy gowns, everyone would be happier.  I don’t know – I’m just a dog so consider the source.  But somewhere during the season of holidays, the holy seems to have gotten misplaced. 

 

Don’t worry – I’m on the job.  As long as its been rolled in some nutmeg or latkes, I’ll sniff out the holy. 

Hineni

It seems like a silly question to me.  Maybe I’m missing something.  Asking yourself “Where are you”?? Hello…sitting right here waiting for you to feed me, drop food, give me treats, or pet me.  What do you mean “where are you”? How do you lose yourself? I’ve mastered this one.  I’m never lost, despite what my mom might say about me wandering out of eye sight.  I’ve got it.  Here I am, living right in the present moment, fully focused on the smell right in front of my nose.  How could I lose myself? I don’t get it. 

But apparently this is a problem for some of you humans.  My mom has been asking herself “where are you?” throughout the day as a way to get centered and remember to breathe. (Ok, really, you humans need reminding to breathe?? You guys aren’t as smart as I thought!)  It seems that its easy for less intelligent beings than I to get lost in the daily shuffle, to forget to appreciate what’s right in front of their noses, and to wander out of eye sight in their crowded brains.  I guess what comes so easy to me just doesn’t translate well to you guys.  

I actually got admonished this morning for stopping to smell the roses for too long! Seriously?? Where are you??

Hineni – Here I am, living in the moment.  Come join me.

Grateful to be a dog

It seems funny to set a day aside to be grateful.  I don’t really get it.  I’m pretty grateful all of the time, and I show it by excessive licking on the people I love the most.  They don’t always appreciate my gratitude but I think they get the message anyway.  But I know that there’s this Thanksgiving thing where everyone gets all in a tizzy cooking (which by the way I am happy to help out with leftovers, dropped morsels, or even plates left unattended!) and speaks about being thankful for their blessings and grateful for the gifts in their lives.  Sounds great, but shouldn’t that be an every day thing?

My mom used to write every night in this little book five things she was grateful for.  Obviously, I was usually at the top of the list, along with friends, family, and other small joys like the warm sunshine, feeling energetic, having legs that can run and eyes that can see.  It was a good practice, but for some reason she doesn’t do it anymore.  I don’t think it’s that she doesn’t like those things anymore. Rather I think that she forgot that it was important amid the cachophony of daily living. 

It seems to be due to something called “stress” and “anxiety” which I don’t really understand.  Well, I take that back.  When I’m wandering towards spotted food at the park and my mom is yelling for me, I feel a moment of stress at the impending trouble I’m going to be in when I ignore her command to “COME!! RIGHT NOW!!” but then I’m happy-go-lucky as I trot off in search of my hidden treat.  But my mom, also known as Lauren to other tall beings, seems to feel “stress” and “anxiety” even when no one is yelling at her to come!

She has this list that never seems to end.  Her list is like her leash, always tugging at her neck, pulling her back from good smells and grassy fields to explore.  I hate the list because a) it makes her “stressed” b) I have to wait in the car sometimes while she runs errands to check off on her list and c) we have to leave the park to do things on the list! And it’s not even my list!  You’d think that we’d finish the list and then we’d get to be done, but no…this is a magic list that never seems to end.  The to-do list that rules her days and yanks on her neck. 

So maybe the gratitude list helped with the stress and maybe it didn’t.  But I’m voting to instate gratitude on a daily basis and not just one day a year.  And today I’m grateful for:

1.   my mom
2. the park
3. yummy food
4. my doggy friends: Tillie Lou, Parker, Coltrane, Moose, and Navarre
5.  treats
6.  playing fetch
7. dropped food
8.  my aunts: Tammy, Shalene, Linda, and Lise
9.  treats
10.  anything edible (sense the theme??)

I get to walk off leash in the neighborhood and at the park I roam free.  I wonder when she gets to take off her leash…