literally digging out

When we learned that B had pancreatic cancer I finally convinced him it was time to get another dog. Lexi was 12 at the time and the kids were so attached to her. When we moved from California to Lexington they seemed to attach deeper to this magnificent, quirky, canine. Both Lexi and my previous dog, Sydney, had been rescue dogs - wonderful creatures and also barkers with strangers.

Bart has always been a fan of golden retrievers and he determined that if we were going to get a dog, it should at least be his dream dog. The opening picture of this post is the moment B told the kids that we were going to get a dog. I don’t think they believed us at first, but then we came home with a beautiful puppy in late August.

Callie is 1.5 years old now, and in all the delightful ways of golden retriever - she wags not just her tail but her whole body. She dotes and loves too much, demanding our attention, seemingly especially when we don’t feel like we have the energy to give it. During the past year Callie was sometimes too much, and we are grateful to have benefitted from lots of Callie sleepovers and camp-stays with Raj (Jim & Kyoko) and Shadow & Atkin (Corinne & Rich).

Now she is back with us full-time and there are still too many times when I whisper what-were-we-thinkings under my breath, especially when I should be sleeping. Still, I don’t think we could have done this past year any other way.

Callie gets me walking when I don’t want to walk. She snuggles on the yogibos with us when we listen to books before bed. She is responsible for at least 20 extra smiles a day that would not otherwise occur. She greats us with the enthusiasm we are properly due each time we come home or wake up. It’s a good time in life to have a regular full body-wagging fan club.

I mentioned that I spend about an hour or two a day digging out of the hole of paperwork and change that is buttressed around us. Today’s effort was dedicated to digging the backyard out from the generous donations these two large dogs have made out there a few times a day for the past month.

It ain’t glamorous, but it’s done. Each day something.

Would love to hear your accomplishments that shouldn’t be a big deal but super-matter.