Still Wagging

Sick as a dog.

I had plenty of

time to consider

this turn of phrase

over the holidays

as each day

one

by

one

all of my

family members

and ultimately,

myself,

succumbed to

the flu bug.

You absolutely

KNOW when

a dog is not well.

Even she was ill, one day!

They curl up

in their spot,

be it bed,

floor or couch,

won't eat and

respond with 

a half-hearted 

thump of the tail

when you kindly

inquire What's

the matter?

In their eyes you

find an expression

that is almost

mournful....

Why me? it says.

Sick pups

are always distressing

because they

can't tell you

where it hurts.

In the January issue

of Real Simple magazine,

there is a piece called

Five things you can

learn from your pet.

One of them,

Celebrate Everything,

especially stood out
to me as I lay, 
bleary-eyed 

under the thick duvet in my 
parent's guest room, 
trying to focus on the words and

definitely not celebrating

anything.

On New Year's day, when

we departed, I saw

this lesson played out

before me, as Kate,

Mom and Dad's 

seven-month old

Doberman, mischievously

snagged a cardboard

box from the pile
 Dad had waiting to burn
next to his fire pit,
containing the unusable

Christmas wrappings

and detritus.

Kate cavorted around

the yard, shaking the

box, throwing it in

the air and then picking

it up and throwing it

again, full of sass,

glee and YES,

celebration.

{Look closely for the cavorting Dobies!}

In the infamous words

of Meg Ryan,

I'll have what she's

having!

This year, when I inhale

 the aroma of that first

cup of freshly-brewed

coffee in the morning, my

 imaginary tail

is going to wag and

in my mind, I will

channel my inner

Kate, saying, 
Coffee, coffee, oh boy
 oh boy I looove

coffee...mmmmmm

yummy coffee!

And hopefully, I will

take that celebratory

spirit with me into

the rest of my day.

Yes, you can indeed

learn a lot from your pet.

As a recovering sick

pup {I'm still far from

100%, darn it} I am

casting my woeful eyes 

on the year ahead 
with an expectant

wag of my imaginary

tail, resolving to

celebrate all the little

things that make up

this dog's life.

Cardboard box,

anyone?

Have a wonderful

first week of 2011,

sweet friends.  Don't

forget to wag, and

wag often!

xx

Suzanne

PS:  Thank you to everyone

who left me such kind, kind

words of encouragement and

sympathy as we've fought this

nasty bug over Christmas.  Your

words are truly the BEST

medicine.  Stay healthy!






images:
Privet & Holly 1, 2-3, 8, 10
Flickr 5-7, 11 {click on pic for talent}
Real Simple 4
Google images 9

Posted in dogs , gratitude , health