Puppy Envy
I wasn’t going to write an entry this evening.
But, then my dog went and was cute. You see, I just got back from walking her, even though I’d decided not to do that this evening. It’s been hot and it looked like rain and, well, frankly, I was just tired tonight. In fact, I decided last night that it was too hot and opted out of our usual walk. But, tonight, Hilda just wouldn’t let me alone until I got up off my tired butt and took her for her walk.
First, she just paced around and whined a little. I ignored her, figuring that she wanted to chase a squirrel in the backyard. Then, she kept coming up and licking my elbow. I checked her food and water. She had both. Finally, she put her head in my lap, looked up at me and sighed through her nose. So, I asked her if she wanted to go out and she danced around by the back door until I got up and then she sat down, quivering when I got close. That was when I figured she wanted her W-A-L-K. When I asked her if that’s what she wanted, she practically squealed with delight that her stupid human had finally figured it out.
So, we went for our drag, er, walk. And, sure enough, when we got home, she was all calm and quiet. She just knew it was Thursday and time for her walk. Heck, she probably had figured out that I’d cheated her yesterday and wasn’t going to let me get away with it again! Those darn kids! Er, Dogs! She’s smart as a whip, that Hilda of mine.
You know, a walk is the least I can do for her. She’s always so happy to see me. It doesn’t matter if I’ve been away five minutes or five hours or five days. Her level of joy is constant. The only thing that troubles her is an empty food bowl and a squirrel on the patio. And, apparently, getting her walks! I wish I could set aside all my cares and be as openly, unabashedly joyful as my dog. So simple that it seems to almost be a spiritual lesson. Simple joy. Even if she’s “just” a dog, that measure of simple joy I get from her heals me a little bit every time I see it.
Yep, I envy my puppy her joy. But, as long as she shares it with me, I don’t mind.
