She Wants to be ALONE!!

I'm bummed.

First off, only Meme wants to be alone .... NOT ME! Not by a long shot, not my thing. I am a big time social animal so I don't get any of this.

But this week Poppy went on a big trip. He's gone the whole week and Meme is dancing as fast as she can! After Poppy left on Sunday she came home and started planning "her week". All of a sudden she had endless days in front of her with no responsibility whatsoever.

WAIT JUST A SECOND HERE! No responsibility? She'd better darned well not forget to walk me!

Anyway, here's the thing. Way back when, or 'back in the day', as they say, Meme lived in New York all by herself. There was a time when she was alone and desperately lonely. There's nothing worse than that as I well know. I get lonely every time my people leave the house. Like I say I'm a social animal.

But she says there's a big difference between being "alone" and being "lonely". Loneliness is believing there's no one there for you and you're all alone in the world. Being alone means you're not all alone in the world; there's just no one there.

It's quiet, there are no voices, no static, no criticism, and best of all no guilt. Meme says that for just this week it's okay to laze in bed just a little too long, get in the shower late, take all the clothes out of the closet, try them on and decide whether to keep them ... take all the spices out of the cabinet and toss the stale ones, pull junk out of everywhere and toss it before Poppy comes home because he would say if it isn't broken we keep it and anyway it might be a "collector's item". Those two words are like chalk on a blackboard for Meme!

This is a time she can blast her Bose, throw on her favorite CDs and play them as loud as she wants, dance around like a crazy woman and no one will laugh. She can read as long as she wants in the morning without worrying that she's ignoring Poppy and he'll get sad.

And she can eat whatever she wants whenever she wants ... no planning menus, hardly any dishes. Do you know she actually bought a Hershey's King Size Almond Bar, opened it, left it out on the counter, breaking it away from time to time to let the delicious chocolate melt in her mouth with no guilt whatsoever?

Because if a tree falls in the forest and no one's there, it doesn't make a sound. And if you cheat on your diet, and no one is there, you don't gain anything. Bet you didn't know that!

So we're alone. We're having a great week. Every day around 5:00 Meme and I pop in the car and drive to get the mail. This is my favorite place in the world to walk. We walk all over up there where there's tons of walkways, bushes, and grass ... more sniffs than a dog could possibly ever hope for. I've been sticking pretty close to her side because it's just us and I have to watch out for her.

And at night, when we go to bed, Meme lay out a T-shirt of Poppy's she pulled from the laundry. I sleep on it and it smells just so good! I have no idea why in the world they keep washing all this stuff ... spoils all the fun.

So being alone is good ... I'm getting to like it because somehow deep in my little brain I know this is temporary. The great thing about being alone is knowing you're not. It's knowing that in a few days we'll drive to the airport and I'll look out the window and see Poppy walking toward me with those awful suitcases I saw in his Den just before he left.

He'll get in the car and I'll squeal and kiss him all over his face. I will be so excited to see him because he really is my absolute favorite human in the whole world (don't tell Meme).

Coming apart is fun for awhile, but coming together is the best part of all.

'Til next time ...
Molly

What's really important???

It's been awhile! Meme did finally come home, but very late because she said there were thunderstorms all over the place and so the planes were all backed up and they couldn't take off and couldn't land. So when she finally dragged herself in with all these excuses I did my usual excited spins and then ignored her. How dare she go off and come back late with all these silly excuses? In the end, I forgave her. What can I do? I only have the two of them.

Today is Father's Day and I gave Poppy a great card! Meme gave him one, too, but it was more about her being a perfect wife than him being a great Poppy. Just lucky she let me give him a card, too, so he felt important! When he was opening the cards, I thought it was Christmas all over again and looked around for my stocking, but nothing.

Meme was looking at the paper this morning and an article struck her on the front page. The headline read "Nothing Sacred as Families Slash". Now she knows that there are troubles in the economy and gas costs a small fortune; this is not the best of times for sure. No one is doubting that. But many of us (not me) have seen so much worse.

So I guess you have to be born in the 70's to think "cutting back" on your every 3rd week pedicure is a hardship. Woe is me ... my toes, my toes!!! And oh my goodness, we have to ditch the once a week cleaning lady! One couple said that by combining their cellphone accounts they saved $70. If they had done that in the first place, they would have an extra $700 or so at the end of the year!!!!

We could go on and on with a list of the "cutbacks", but the real point is they should be talking to an awful lot of people in this country who have been doing without all these goodies for many years and somehow they still find happiness, joy of family, and gratitude for the smallest of luxuries.

A really wonderful man died this week. Meme and Poppy watched him on TV almost every single day and on Sunday he had a really great program called "MeetThe Press" that answered so many questions for so many people. He was honest, a man of integrity. His life was cut short way before it should have been.

Meme said she felt like she'd been hit in the gut. She didn't know why because he wasn't a friend of hers. But she welcomed him into our home every single day. We relied on him to ask the good, hard questions and get real answers, not let people beat around the bush. She says he demanded accountability (something really important to Meme).

In a world of spin and partisanship, this man set the bar very high and Meme doesn't think there's anyone out there who didn't have respect for him. And how many people, particularly in the political world, can we say that about these days?

So a really nice family has lost a son, a brother, a husband, a father. And we have lost an honest, down to earth, loving man. And it's going to take a very long time before someone can come even close to replacing him, if they even can. It's just a terrible loss particularly now.

It's not about the hair coloring, the best cellphone plan, the cleaning lady, the Thai take-out, the pedicures, or even Disney World. It's about being grateful to have your family together. That's why I hate when mine walks out the door ... I never know for sure they're coming back.

This man's family has to come home and he's not here anymore. I don't think they'll even notice whether or not they have an HDTV. They don't have him. And this world is going to be more than a little empty without him.

God bless you and keep you, Tim Russert.

'Til Next Time ...

Molly









Copyright HBS 2008

Trouble's Afoot

I'm depressed.

I always know when we've got trouble and we've got it now. The suitcase is out and stuff is being tossed into it. This is not a good sign. Since there's just the one suitcase, and judging by it's color, it means Meme is going away for awhile and that is not good news at all.

You may have read somewhere that dogs have no concept of time and Meme is always telling me that. And maybe we don't, but what we know for sure is we like things the way they are supposed to be. And Meme and Poppy are supposed to be here all the time. I don't mind if they go out for dinner or something like that because they always bring me back a special treat.

But when that suitcase rolls out the door I know that things just won't be right until it rolls back in. Poppy will behere with me and he really is my favorite (don't tell Meme), but I need her here, too. She's the one who walks me early in the morning and the last thing at night. She's the one who laughs the most and makes everything just seem more fun. And she's the one who usually feeds me.

So Poppy will do all that and take care of me and I'll keep him company. He needs company a lot so I'm happy to do it. But things just aren't going to be right around here until that suitcase comes rolling back in the door. I'll pretty much wait here until it does.

Sometimes Poppy takes me to the airport when he meets Meme and I go spastic with squeals and kisses all over her. Sure hope that happens this time.

The only good thing about Meme going away is Meme coming home. Thought I should tell you all that because we won't be writing until late next week. I'm sure she'll be fired up about something when she gets back ... we can pretty much count on it!

'Til next time.

Molly









Copyright HBS 2008

Destiny? or Chance?

Every day about 5:00 Poppy and I go out for a long walk. It's one of the best parts of the day. Ever since I was a puppy, one of my favorite things has been visiting with other dogs along my path. I've always liked to take full advantage of every meeting.

Meeting other dogs is fun. Some I like more than others and size doesn't matter. Every now and again I meet another dog I don't take to at all and I pretty much ignore them. But mostly, I like other dogs and their people too. I never quite know why they are along my path. They just are.

Now and then I get to wondering about the dogs I never see again, who for some reason never seem to walk when I do or maybe just don't walk the same path every day. When I'm especially philosophical, I get to thinking about the reason some of these dogs come into my life and then leave it while others are there every day along my path. And it's the same with people ... there are people I just love out there who give me treats and rub my belly. Others not so much.

As you probably know by now, Meme believes in lots of things ... one of those is "to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven". While she believes that, she also believes in our own free will to make choices. But are these two beliefs in conflict? I have absolutely no idea at all. I don't even get the quote!!!

So she explains that nothing happens by accident, that we meet everyone we meet for a reason. Some people (and dogs) come into our lives ever so briefly yet leave themselves indelibly etched on our hearts. But others come along and they are there forever. We can depend on them to listen or to pet us. So it's the paths we choose, or are occasionally led down, that lead us to those who walk with us throughout our lives. There is a purpose for everything that happens to us. Meme says that it's very important to have supportive and loving people around you and I sure can't disagree with that! I can't even walk without someone holding that leash ... at least I don't think so!

You're wondering where I'm going with this. So am I!!!! These things come to me and when I talk them over with Meme sometimes I'm more confused than I was before.

I think what she's saying is that sometimes in life we are disappointed by others. Sometimes they may not live up to our expectations or we don't to theirs. Now and then we have to walk away from them or they walk away from us. It's kind of like I was saying earlier ... there are just some dogs out there who just walk by me once, we touch noses, check each other out, and then they're gone. But that doesn't mean there was no purpose to them being there even once. It doesn't mean that their presence, for however long, was a waste of time.

Meme thinks time is never really wasted. Every second counts. She keeps telling me that as we journey through our life every breath is important and we should never regret a moment that has passed. So that's what I do ... especially important for me because I don't have nearly as much time on this earth as people do.

Meme never looks back and wonders if she made the wrong choice, messed up, welcomed someone into her life only to have to let go. Who she has become is made up of every choice she ever made and without twists and turns along the path, she would not be who she is.
At the end of each day whether we believe that everything that happened to us that day is chance or destiny really doesn't matter. What matters is that every day that passes will somehow affect who we are the next day.

So no regrets, Meme says. I say "what's a regret???". But she explains that we may not know what each day's purpose is, but one day we will look back and we will know why everything turned out the way it did. She says to tell you she is grateful for every person who has ever crossed her path, for however long ... and if you're reading this, you're probably one of them.

'Til next time ...

Molly









Copyright HBS 2008