An oversized cliché – put a bow on me
So I’ve been speaking to people about dogs – here a dog there a dog, hell Tin and I even looked at cats at the shelter despite the fact that a litter was born under my neighbor’s house sometime a few months ago. One woman said to me, “I just want to make sure you will keep the dog because this time of year, people long for a dog because of the holidays.”
Well mam, I wanted to tell her – welcome to my life, because I am among many things a card carrying cliché – this time last year I had two dogs and two cats and a house on the bayou and thought differently than I do now. But that was last year, this year my household is very different – the footprint has changed, and the paw prints have definitely disappeared from the floorboards.
Is this why I want a dog? Hmmm, let’s see. No. Why I want a dog – part one:
The only remaining animals from last year is Heidi, the German Shepherd rescued in 2010. If you know anything about German Shepherds you know they bond with one person even though they are a family dog. And Heidi bonded with Tin and Tin with Heidi. So when Heidi is at the Blue House, Tin misses her. So when we are home in our cozy house, I long for a dog who will be here at the Spirit House.
That’s part one. Part two is I want a dog for me.
I’ve grown accustomed to walking a dog to City Park and getting my morning constitutional and now without a dog, I’m not pulled to complete my ritual alone. Well I do venture out for walks and do it alone, but it does not bring me the same joy that a trusty companion by my side does.
Part three is I miss my four-legged companions of yesteryear.
Arlene was such a joy to have around from the time she crawled out of the carrier at SFO airport and climbed up my neck till the time I carried her to the vet one last time. I still think about her. I still dream about her.
Part four – because four is my lucky number – is that my mother told me she would come back as a dog. And I miss my mother too.
So I’m blue for the holidays – I miss the creatures I clung to in my life who transitioned to another – and my son who I waited 50 years for will be at the Blue House (how color appropriate) on Christmas and so yes, lady on the other end of the receiver, I admit, I’m a cliché because I want a dog since I’m blue for the holidays, but I don’t want just a creature to temporarily assuage my blues, I am looking for a companion with whom to share this wonderful life.
