Sometimes you just have one of those days.
The girls and I lost a friend this week. Nikki (above), Shelby (below) and I have been visiting at a local nursing home for a number of years. This gentleman, Bob, was one of our favorites.
I visited with Bob the two times a month that we went to the nursing home for the four and a half years that he resided there. He always greeted us with a smile and a quick wit. I could tell everyone loved him, workers and residents alike.
He always had a kind word, words of comfort or a joke to share. As we got to know each other, I found out that Bob was from the same small community that I live in. I live right down the street from a business he once had. Over the months, Bob taught me a lot of local history of the area and tidbits of information about what times used to be like there. I learned from him about local landmarks and points of interest, and just what times were like over the years.
Bob could talk about anything. We talked about “our Cavs”, gardening, current events, historical events, his family, my family. You name it, we probably talked about it. We shared life. I felt closer to him than any grandparent I ever had.
Bob lived a good, and long life. He was 94. Still, I cried when I saw his obituary in the paper. I didn’t think it was time yet. Thank you my friend, my life is better for having known you.
If you don’t like where you are at, move. You are not a tree.
I don’t know who first said this but I love it. We have the ability to change our lives.
Don’t waste it!
I just finished reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I would highly recommend it. It is not the most fun book that I have ever read but that is to be expected since most of it takes place during World War II.
I would say that it made me think about things I hadn’t given much thought to before. And it may have changed the way that I think about people just a little bit.
If you aren’t looking for that sort of thing, it is still a good story with lots of character development. It would be an excellent book for a Book Group to undertake.
Now on to my next book!
Why do some dogs take a piece of our hearts?
Such as Zeke, a leash aggressive, separation anxiety ridden, jumping, abandoned, mixed breed of uncertain lineage. There is no logic to it that I can see. More and more I find myself saying, “Duncan used to do that”, about something Zeke has done.
Duncan was the love of my life. Of course for his first few years I referred to him as the sheltie from hell. He got into trouble frequently, often because of something he chewed up. The corners of the coffee table, the pull handle off the lawn mower, handles from a bicycle, drywall in the garage. He also charged at bicycles on walks, and had endless energy. But as the years went by and we worked together on all these issues, we developed the deepest of relationships. He even earned the title of TDIA (Therapy Dog International Active) for completing over 50 visits to nursing homes and care facilities. He attained this because it made me happy.
And now Zeke does some of the random things that Duncan used to do. He charges bicycles, he pulls me up hills on walks when I’m tired. He likes hanging out with daddy but lives for when I come home. Just like Duncan.
I do realize he’s not Duncan. But I do love Zeke dearly too. Perhaps, as time goes by and our relationship grows, I will be gifted with another Lifetime Dog.
Is it just me or do random people at the store stop you to talk and ask questions of you too? I’m talking total strangers that I have never seen before.
There was the lady who was determining what kind of cat food to get. I was there getting cans of cat food for my 15 year old cat who would eat nothing else. Little did I know that by entering the pet aisle that I would become her prime suspect. She saw the food I put into the cart and asked, “Do they like it?”. Umm, no I just buy this to stack around the house? Of course, I responded that yes, this was the only thing that Lacey the cat would eat. Then I got to hear a little about her cats.
Next I was asked about a number of other brands on the shelf. I had no experience with most of them. Then it was, “Do you think Brand X is good for them?” Umm, you really should discuss it with your vet if you think that your cat has special needs. I thought this would be my opportunity to make a break for it. I don’t mind helping people but I had already spent some time on this and I had to get home. Not to mention, this lady was in desperate need of a bath. Mercifully, I was not all that close to her but I didn’t need to be. I explained to her that I was on my way home from work so really needed to get going.
I should have been faster with my departure. “What kind of litter do you use”, was next on her agenda. She wanted to discuss the merits and my experience with the various cat litters. I gave her a few words of advice and moved to leave. She was still talking as I made my way down the aisle and I called have a nice day. I could still hear her as I left the aisle. I’ve always wondered if she was still standing there talking by the time the next unsuspecting soul came along.
Driving home I thought there went 15 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back. I can only hope that this random shopper’s life was improved in some way by our discussion. Whether it be from some advice I gave her, or just that someone took 15 minutes out of their day to talk to her.
There was also the day that a friendly lady asked me about acorn squash in the produce department. She seemed nice and mercifully was well groomed.
Her: Do you know anything about acorn squash?
Me: Yes, it is delicious.
Her: (Picking up random squash) Does this one look good? How about this one” (And so on, until she had the appropriate squash.
Me: (Thinking she is all set now and we are done)
Her: Ok, what do I do with this?
Me: (Gave her various cooking methods)
Her: Well, what do you cook with it?
So I gave some more suggestions and made my get away.
These are the most notable instances but these types of encounters seem to happen to me from time to time. I went home one day and asked my husband, “Does it say Sucker or Has no life on my forehead? He said no, that he thinks people can sense that I am a kind and caring person. I like his answer better so that’s the one we are going with.
It’s nice to hang out with friends who “get us”. Luckily we have a few. We just had a nice visit with a friend of my husband’s who is one such person.
Not just everyone is able to “get us”. We have an immense love for our animals and a fondness for our old house. Not a big deal, you say? We currently live with 5 dogs and 2 cats. These are low numbers for us.
We currently have 4 dog crates in our dining room. One fits a 70 lb greyhound. Our front entrance houses two litter boxes and a table with cat food, all barricaded by a baby gate.
Our house was built in 1830 and comes with “charm” from olden times. The floors are uneven, the electric could stand an upgrade, the basement walls are made of stones, and the windows stick.
But then again, there is plenty of character if you are able to see it. There are old doors with latch type handles. There are lots of doors and windows with moldings. Curved walls in two rooms. Old fashioned sleeping nooks off the main bedroom. And older outbuildings, trees, and plantings.
And we have room to create gardens that we enjoy since we live in the country.
The best part though is our family that lives here with us. It’s not everywhere that you can see a line of cats outside the bathroom.
Or a pack of dogs equally eager to snuggle or play.
This is not the life for everyone but we call it home.
What once brought pain now brings happiness. This is a lesson I have learned from this video. Two of my girls featured have now passed on. At the time the pain was tremendous. And now, although I miss them still, being able to look at this simple video brings me comfort.
I am blessed to remember the many times and great love we shared. This is something to remember during future painful times. Because they always come. Life is a cycle of joy and sadness, happiness and pain, good times and bad, life and death. Hence the saying “this too shall pass”. It applies to everything.
But for this evening, I will enjoy these thoughts of some of my pups, past and present.
Harley was my idea of the perfect cat. He was a good mouser. He was regal and demanded respect yet he was also affectionate and loved his people. I had the pleasure of being Harley’s momma for 16 years. We lost him yesterday. He went in for a dental and did not survive.
It turned out that he suffered from a condition that I was not familiar with. Something called dental resorption. As near as I understand it, the tooth or teeth, begin to calcify at the root. This forms lesions and the calcification attachs the tooth to the jawbone so that it is hard to remove. There are more details and technicalities but I will spare you. In Harley’s case, the teeth were very hard to remove. In essence, by a few hours after the surgery, the amount of blood loss he suffered was too great and he succumbed. This was traumatic and unexpected for us because although Harley was old, he was in fairly good shape for his age. We picked him up from the vet’s and brought him home. He is now buried with our other furry family members that have gone before.
I first got Harley when I and a friend where hiking with our dogs on a path that ran beside my house. We made it about half a mile down the trail when a kitten of about 4 months came running up to me meowing. This was near farm land that was grown up and no longer used. I think someone dumped Harley there. He couldn’t have been born there, he was too friendly to be a feral kitten. He ran up to me even with our dogs and let me pick him up. My friend Becky said “you can’t leave him here”. And so I didn’t. He let me carry him all the way back home. He never struggled to get down. He soon became a part of our household.
I thought for a while on what his name should be, and finally came up with Harley. Now he is not named after the obvious Harley Davidson of motorcycle fame. His name was short for Harlequin because he was a black and white cat.
Harley made the move with us to our current house nearly 14 years ago. It is an old farmhouse, built in 1830. Read as: mice like it here! Harley was a supreme mouser. And catcher of moles, and chipmunks, and baby squirrels. Unfortunately for us, this was all in the house. We would not do well in this house without a cat. Harley taught his protege’, Morty to catch mice.
Once he had passed the torch, as it were, he gave up hunting. That was apparently something for the next generation.
In his retirement, Harley became ever more affectionate and communicative. Once we discovered that his teeth were bad, which is another story, he ate canned food. He would call to me first thing in the morning and again throughout the day whenever he wanted his canned cat food. I would put it in a crate for him (so the other cats and dogs wouldn’t take it) and in he would go. I would then close the door. Whenever he was done, he would call to me again so that I could let him out and put any remaining food away for next time. This usually made me smile because he communicated so well.
He also followed me around for affection. He would sit on the arm of the couch beside me and squint his eyes with happiness. He would rub on my hand and ask for ear rubs. And if I was busy doing something else, he would sit on the back of the couch directly behind my head, for maximum closeness while I read, or watched tv, or talked. He was my kitten always.
My world is an emptier place without a Harley Cat. But it is a better, richer place for having known him.
I was just reading something that was written by Jane Goodall, of whom I am a big fan. She stated that she was born loving animals. No wonder I am a big fan. I can relate to this and understand it completely.
One of the first tv shows that I can remember watching is Captain Kangaroo. My favorite character? Mr. Moose. My favorite Saturday morning cartoon? Tarzan. I didn’t want to be Jane, I wanted to be Tarzan because he could talk to the animals. My favorite superhero? Aquaman. Because he could summon the animals for help, under water no less! Seeing a theme here?
Growing up I always had my own dog, independent from my dad’s hunting dogs. I used to beg my mom to let me bring her in the house. My mom just told me that dogs didn’t belong inside and that when I grew up and had my own house, I could have all the dogs I wanted in it. I don’t think it is physically possible, or wise, for me to have as many as I want. But we do tend to vary between 4 to 6 or 7 dogs at any one time, depending on the number of foster and visiting dogs residing with us. Not to mention the cats, current count is four.
For years now, instead of killing spiders, moths, etc. in the house, I try to catch them and release them outside. We try to live trap destructive rodents and release them elsewhere. I don’t like to kill things or being responsible for killing them if there is another option.
I don’t remember ever not being this way. I don’t understand people who don’t like animals. Animals are fellow beings on this planet with us. I tend to look at these people with puzzlement and realize that we are never likely to more than acquaintances because they don’t “get” what is my biggest passion in life. I wouldn’t say that I love animals more than humans. We are all living beings and deserve respect. Loving one does not exclude the other. Although I must say, I am often more comfortable around animals than people.
Peace be with you. And all forms of life.
Sanctuary Acres 