Skip to main content

National Dutch Day


       I was completely sold on the idea to get a dog. I wanted one, and I was just extremely excited to get a miniature Schnauzer. There were two left...the little guy and his bigger brother. I got first choice. Meet Dutch. The love of my life. I didn't realize, as do most people, how much this little creature would greatly impact my life. I know that everyone says they have the best dog, and if their dog means as much to them as Dutch does to me...then they can't be lying.
       I used to have this bear. It was about 3 feet tall, white at one point, and slept with me every night for 23 years. I gave the bear up for this little guy, and he has since become my comfort. When Andrew passed, I was a complete mess. I wept and cursed and acted confused, but not once did this guy leave my side (well...he did piss on my friend Michael 3 times in that one day) but other than that Dutch had to have one paw touching me at all times. 
        This dog has been a physical saving grace. I don't mean to single him out apart from my parents dog, Baron, who has also been a fantastic part of my family, but Dutch is the one who I look at and my heart lurches. Yes, I am probably that creepy person who thinks their pets are their kids. I don't have kids...I have this little guy. And there are not moments when I think I wouldn't do anything for him. He has claimed me as his own (literally) and I him...although I didn't pee on him.
         To the next man who comes in my life: you will be sharing me with this one. We are a packaged deal, and not that I believe dogs come before humans, Dutch was here first. ;-) Boy, with that kind of attitude I will never find a man! 
         Happy National Dutch (I mean Dog) Day!!! 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tiger must stay in your backpack...

   I'm not that parent. The one who gloats too much, and shows off all the pictures. The parent who relays every detail of their kid to let others know how incredible I think they are. Perhaps it is a flaw. Who knows. And I also pride myself in not being a helicopter parent. I teach and let go. I discipline and let go.    And I thought I would be ready for this: first day of Pre-K. I have been very positive and uplifting and have wanted my son to be extra ready to go to school. We have talked about it for months! I am ready... Or so I thought.  This morning, as white boy was leaving to take them to daycare, he said to Owen, "You can't take Tiger to school tomorrow or he will have to stay in your backpack, so do you want to take him to daycare today?" I thought little of it, but as Owen threw him down on the ground and turned to head out the door, my throat hitched. "Are you sure you don't want to take him today?" He said no. It was a sense of finality.  ...

The Sacred Requiem

  He handed me the hymnal and asked me if I was ready...if I could do this. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. I had never planned a funeral, and even if I had imagined planning one it sure wasn't this early in life and it sure wasn't for my only brother, my only sibling. At 25, I felt like a little child getting left behind in a sea of strangers. I was terrified.   2 days prior, my heart stopped beating. 2 short days before this, my peaceful world collided with the dark. And now I had to prepare for the world to say goodbye to greatness. The tree fell in the woods and the world shook with its sudden end. And we, as the collective, needed to imagine that very tree as the beautiful piece of woodwork it now was and bow to it's new exulted shape.   I wasn't sure how to plan a requiem. But, it had been placed in my hands and I wanted to give him the best I could. He deserved it. He deserved life...to live...to breathe still and chase every dream he thought into...

"To be or not to be..."

   In the famous lines from Act 3 Scene 1 in Shakespeare's Hamlet, we hear the contemplation of suicide: "To be or not to be...that is the question." And what a powerful question that is.    All over social media we have been privy to the not so secret decision made by Brittany Maynard to end her life. And what a horrifically tragic story this is. So what is the right attitude or stance we should have concerning this beauitful, young girl who decided to take her life?    I remember several years back I watched a documentary on Dr. Kevorkian aka Dr. Death. It was a look into his methods of assisted suicide. And as I watched this video I couldn't help but mentally stand behind the actions of this doctor. And up until the point he made it a political issue, I supported him. I still do.    Now, whether you think one way or another, let me say one thing...I don't think suicide is God's perfect will for our lives, but His perfect will wasn't for Brit...