Dogs Best Friend

Today is my sister’s birthday. Happy Birthday Donna!

She and her husband are exceptional dog parents. They adopt older dogs by choice. Older dogs have lots of emotional baggage and an even shorter life span to share.  These “hard to adopt” canines are lucky indeed.

I am also fascinated by dog behavior and its compatibility with humans. The film attached is a remarkable “eye opener” to what makes dogs and humans click.

This blog post is in honor of Donna, Mike and their dogs, past, present, and future.

An important reminder to all dog owners. They count on you for their happiness and this is an emotional bond that should never be taken lightly. The reward is a pal like no other.

Sisters

For My Little Sister, Donna.

The little one said,

“You are so colorful and cast the larger shadow.”

The big one replied,

We are made of the same elements and you chose a different path.”

“You are always busy, filled with life.”

“You are content in keeping your feelings facing away.”

It pleases me to be the observer, I like to watch.”

You are my balance, my friend and companion.”

I know you’ll always be near.”

I could not exist but for your support.”

Then the Earth smiled at the Moon.


Going home…

I was so glad it happened…

I was at my house last night. It was the one where I grew up.

I still remember our phone number.

The place was just as it was the day that I left it. My brother had told me that the wall was gone. It was there and in perfect repair. He tries to trick me all the time.

I walked up and down the cement steps. They felt familiar all right.

Owning it again and having it the way it had always been gave me such a sense of peace. I remarked, “This hasn’t changed. Now it is mine , whew, I have waited for so long.”

When I woke up this morning, memories came flooding back. That visit did me well.

Wes and Willy, the modern-day Abbot and Costello, had done the finish carpentry in our “new room”. The addition will always be known as the ” new room”.

Before the addition, there had been no parking lot. That side of the house had tiger lilies along it. The real tiger lilies, bright orange with black freckles. A stone wall held the bank up.

I was glad to see my two friends, the white pine trees,  still waited there for me…I thanked them for their patience. Good ol fellas. I climbed them so often and they never “let me down” as pine trees often do.

The back door opened and our old dog Bosco stood there confused. Ah, the day he went blind and had to be put to sleep still haunts the back porch. That’s ok…it happened.

I giggled to myself. The cellar stairs were just the same. My sister made me stand on the top ones when she ventured to the dryer. This way she felt safe from monsters. She could see my feet. I never had the heart to put on the monster feet I had imagined scaring her with…HA! Funny idea though.

The main hallway remarkably had the very same banister! Very cool. That is where my baby brother peaked through the wrung and made my mother laugh. She was angry with him. He just said,”Boo”, and her anger was replaced with laughter.

Those stairs were the ones that had broken my wrist. Untied shoe laces and an arm full of clothes, I tumbled.

There’s the coat closet. The “principal’s office” where my brother sat as Donna and I played school. Yes, there were gender issues when I was 10 but they took on such an ironic justice. Proved to us that it was lonely at the top. He sat in his closet, all alone. Ha!

The den was the place where my cat had scared the life out of me! He startled me while I was mesmerized by a haunting movie.

Yes, it felt so good to be home.

32 years have passed and I still could visit it! It is still mine.

This is why I have never ever gone back there…

The place is 2 miles from my house, in the same town, on a dead-end street.

I prefer going home in my dreams.

MY HOUSE