Got up this morning and as she usually does, our Shiz-Tzu/Brussels Griffon cross named Sophie was ready for her morning belly rub. She seems to have this uncanny ability to predict when one of us is about to wake up (and for the record it is usually me, not my wife Raylene who loves her sleep), and she positions herself ready for some affection. Most mornings, when I open my eyes, there she is – staring at me, her face an inch from mine, anticipating the affection and attention that she expects as princess of the house.
For some reason, when I look at Sophie and play with her, she helps me gain this sense of gratitude that I have about life and about where I am. Dogs are funny creatures. Every day I come home from work, it’s as though she hasn’t seen me in a year, and thought I had died on the way home. The amount of excitement and affection she always has waiting for me never gets old or lost on me.
She’s been a barrel of trouble for Raylene and I, since we got her as a puppy last year. Because of our equally busy schedules and lack of ability to say “no” to this little animal, the road to housebreaking was long and messy. Fortunately, she’s got it figured out now so that’s one less hassle we have to deal with this winter. She seems to enjoy prancing around in the snow and exploring a whole new world every time it snows.
Raylene usually takes her to work, and I am the Sophie walker, as I usually take her out for a walk each day. On the walk, it’s fun to simply watch Sophie and the constant curiosity she always has about things. On the way back, she knows exactly when she has arrived at Sophie’s house, turns on the walk and runs up to the front door – eager to wake mommy up and play.
If you would have told me a few years ago that this scene was something I would truly live for .. that this daily pattern was something I would get so much satisfaction out of, I would have told you that was crazy.
But as I get older and hopefully a little wiser, I realize just how much these little things mean, and how lucky I am to have such a little angel in my life that reminds me to be grateful.
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