Meme says it all the time ... "don't cry over spilt milk"... and "what's done is done". She has a ton of these sayings and none of them really make a whole lot of sense. But I do know something about "It is what it is". That's her favorite right now.
I love routine and I especially love mornings. They're the best because they're almost always the same. I'm up before everyone else, I jump off the bed and when they still don't wake up I let out a tiny whimper and it's just enough to wake up Meme. And so my day begins with a walk around the neighborhood just to make sure everything is the way I left it the night before.
Then it's back to the house where I run as fast as my little legs will take me into the bedroom where Poppy always has a biscuit for me. Then back to the kitchen where always, always, always my dish is filled with my breakfast. Then I go back to the bedroom, get lifted up on the bed and have my medicine treat that keeps my joints working as best they can. They drink coffee, watch TV, I sleep ... it's just a super time for all of us.
Another favorite I can depend on is weekend breakfasts. On the weekends Meme and Poppy have a special breakfast at the glass top table on the patio. When that refrigerator door opens I know the fruit is on its way to the counter and it will be no time at all before they have their breakfast.
You might not think this would be a special time for a dog, but over the years I have taught my people well and they can't resist sharing their fruit with me. I sit between them at the table and gaze longingly up at them. There's a trick to this. I have to look needy, but loving. As soon as I hear the knife on the plate I know Poppy is cutting the fruit and in a minute a juicy piece of melon will be coming my way. Yup! Got it!
So then I turn to Meme with the same drill. If nothing happens, I make the tiniest soulful sound and it works every time. I just love things I can depend on.
We dogs will wait for treats. I must be patient because for some reason all the yummies in the world were not put in a place I can get my paws on them. And when I don't get my treat immediately, I bide my time because sooner or later the good stuff always comes. If nothing else works, I stare them down and they eventually give in.
This is life's order for me. But sometimes I'm disappointed and things don't go my way. Some days all the good things I depend on just aren't there.
There's no point in looking back at that imperfect day and moping about it, no reason to "cry over the spilt milk" because we can't go back and change anything. So we plunge on with hope for the next day ... hope that it will be better than the day before.
But sometimes, when life just knocks the you know what out of us, it takes more than usual to build up our confidence in tomorrow. We have to dig deep in our souls reaching for our faith that things will get better, that our treat is on its way.
And that brings me to today. We rode so high on our Cape Cod trip, but when we came home I just knew all was not well in our house. I sort of figured out that Meme and Poppy's order was out of whack and things just weren't happening right for us. There have been sad days all over the world recently.
But we just can't let this get us down. We can't go our whole lives with a great treat every single day. There are always going to be days with no treats.
We're hopeful again. We're getting a little confidence back because it doesn't do any good to be sad all day wondering where our treat is ... doesn't do any good at all. The important thing is to hold on tight to the things we can count on.
For me that's the sun coming up every day, it's the walk down our street that promises familiar smells, it's knowing my Meme and Poppy love me more than anything, it's sleeping between them on our bed. These are the important things that I can always count on and if one day I don't have all the treats I want, I just remember all the good stuff I do have.
Meme calls that "counting our blessings", something we especially must do in times of stress and hardship and certainly this Thanksgiving Day before we get any turkey. When we do that, it gives us the strength to deal with whatever is tossed at us no matter how scary.
And from that strength we begin to feel hope. With that hope eventually comes confidence. Once we've built that confidence inside us again, all things are possible.
'Til Next Time ...
Molly
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