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Thank Heaven...for Little Girls

It's so tiring to keep up with all the amazing developments in the Middle East. I need to come up for air and find something light.

This winter I am putting the cold dry air to good use by walking to downtown more than in the past. It takes about 40 minutes, the back way, which is mostly dirt single-track. How nice it is to have a trail in town. Walking in town, away from traffic, is more interesting than an artificial hike in a boring forest.

First we hung out at the coffee shop, where Coffee Girl (my kelpie dog) charmed the socks off 90% of the customers. (And I tend to think there is something wrong with the remaining 10%.) Then we headed over to the food co-op (blush) where I bought all of one thing. Today I decided to wait, since there were a dozen kids' bicycles outside; they were all inside, stocking up on something.

They all came out at once. Immediately a half dozen girls, 8-10 years old, were cooing and giggling and fawning over Coffee Girl, and oh (!) how she gloried in all that attention. Every part of her body, from wet nose to wagging tail, quivered with happiness. It's probably uninteresting to read someone talk about their dog. We all know how boring it is to hear people brag about their kids, or to have granny at an RV park describe how cute this or that trivial thing was when her grandchild did it.

Still, for cynical old bachelor curmudgeons it's rare to have a delightful experience with children. (Think W.C. Fields.) I felt a spasm of joy during all this. If that isn't worth writing about, well, what is?


Above: reader bp's new dog, Copper (?). His eyes are a lot like my Coffee Girl's eyes, shown below.

Comments

XXXXX said…
Oh, you bet, Boonie. I had a rough day yesterday and reading this post early this morning is just what I need.
It is really the important stuff...the "little" things. For so many things in life, we judge.

I'm sending you a pic of my aussie shepherd which I would be pleased if you posted here. I already had two golden retrievers but sometimes I browse thru petfinder.com and I ran across a pic of this dog at a nearby shelter. I need a third dog like I need a hole in the head but I kept on going back to the pic and watching to see if he was adopted. No. So I thought I'd just go look and maybe wouldn't like him and I could get over this. But, I will tell you, he is fantastic and every day I am grateful that I have him. He brings joy, just as you described, every single day. They docked his tail so short there is nothing left to wag but he wags with his whole body, leans against you and of course starts the kissing thing as well. EVERYTHING makes him happy.

Dogs and little children are a lot alike. My own sons are grown and have forgotten the ways of themselves when they were little. They have become consumed with adult tasks. But I, who know them so well, can still see it come through so often....perhaps just in a pause, or an idle comment....I know the feeling, the memory without it being spoken.

I'm glad you had a great day with Coffee Girl. Thanks for this post.
bp, your wish is my command.
XXXXX said…
LOL. Yes, his name is Copper. Thanks for posting the pic. He looks great on "the big screen."

I see Coffee Girl has similiar coloring. I think it is very attractive. I can't see her eyes so well. Well, I know I am like the grandmother pulling out pics of all her grandchildren here so I will refrain from going on and on.
XXXXX said…
When I made the comment about children and dogs being a lot alike, I knew it to be true but the specifics of it didn't pop up right away. I ended up thinking about it alot yesterday.
Both dogs and little children look for joy in everything and can usually find it. Yesterday, in our blizzard here, I thought of my sons and how, when they were little, they absolutely loved days like this....putting on their snowsuits, etc. When the snow plows came by and made a huge pile of snow, well, that became a potential snow fort and the digging out began.
This sense of joy is so spontaneous in both dogs and children. Adults have pretty much lost it to the point that getting it back is quite difficult....always that nagging voice popping up about money, or politics, or work, etc. Perhaps that's what we try to find so hard during retirement.
Maybe that's why we love our dogs so much....they set the example for us, reminding our wooden heads what it means to be fully alive in what each day brings.
And if you can bear this conversation any longer.......this morning when I took my dogs outside to pee, instead of being impatient with one that has to find just the right spot (and to my adult mind the ice, cold, wind, isn't fun at 4:00 in the morning) I got to wondering why he picks one spot over another. I mean it's like reading a menu at a restaurant that you have never been to before......he weighs one spot against another, goes back to check and then recheck, etc. Then finally peeing. I had to laugh at it all. It turned out to be fun and I truly felt a sense of joy in it all.
bp, thanks for relating your experiences.