Jan Dunlap's Blog - Posts Tagged "puppy"
Can you spell 'idiot'?
Sometimes, I think I’m an idiot.
But sometimes, I KNOW I am.
Like today. I take two dogs for a walk – a 70-lb seven-year-old Gracie and our new 4-month-old puppy Michael – and cut through the woods on our way back to shorten the distance because it’s hot and humid. The woods are cooler, and it reduces our walk by about 30 minutes, so it’s a great idea.
Except for the fact that we’ve had a lot of rain recently and the streambed that is normally dry is now filled with a foot of water and it’s too wide to jump across at the point where I’m standing, not to mention that it’s about a six-foot drop from the edge of the woods to the stream bed. So I figure I’ll slowly work my way down, except that the rain has made the six feet of embankment very slippery and muddy, and I’ve got almost 100 pounds of enthusiastic dogs pulling me down towards the water (we LOVE the water, say the dogs!) since I’m trying to be a good citizen and keep my dogs leashed. My feet slide out beneath me, I try to catch my balance, scraping my bare arms on thorny bushes along the way, my rear hits the mud embankment and then I stand up in the crystal clear water of our spring-fed stream. I look down to see my hiking boots are completely submerged and the dogs are lying in the water, lapping it up and splashing with joy.
I thank God I didn’t slip and crack my head open on the limestone bed of the stream. I’m not even carrying my cellphone in case I needed to call for help. I am an idiot. My husband will shake his head in dismay at my stupidity. I think of all the times I accuse him of still thinking he’s eighteen years old when he gets hurt playing tennis or working in the yard, and here I am, acting like Dora the Explorer, who is, after all, a cartoon.
And then I laugh out loud because I’m having…fun! I got to slide down a mudbank and slosh through a stream in boots filled with fresh water and soaked socks. I haven’t done that in about 55 years! Other than some scratches on my arms (which match the scratches on my legs from our puppy’s sharp little teeth), I’m totally okay. In fact, I’m better than okay.
I feel great.
Maybe I should be an idiot more often…Saved by Gracie: How a Rough-And-Tumble Rescue Dog Dragged Me Back to Health, Happiness, and God
But sometimes, I KNOW I am.
Like today. I take two dogs for a walk – a 70-lb seven-year-old Gracie and our new 4-month-old puppy Michael – and cut through the woods on our way back to shorten the distance because it’s hot and humid. The woods are cooler, and it reduces our walk by about 30 minutes, so it’s a great idea.
Except for the fact that we’ve had a lot of rain recently and the streambed that is normally dry is now filled with a foot of water and it’s too wide to jump across at the point where I’m standing, not to mention that it’s about a six-foot drop from the edge of the woods to the stream bed. So I figure I’ll slowly work my way down, except that the rain has made the six feet of embankment very slippery and muddy, and I’ve got almost 100 pounds of enthusiastic dogs pulling me down towards the water (we LOVE the water, say the dogs!) since I’m trying to be a good citizen and keep my dogs leashed. My feet slide out beneath me, I try to catch my balance, scraping my bare arms on thorny bushes along the way, my rear hits the mud embankment and then I stand up in the crystal clear water of our spring-fed stream. I look down to see my hiking boots are completely submerged and the dogs are lying in the water, lapping it up and splashing with joy.
I thank God I didn’t slip and crack my head open on the limestone bed of the stream. I’m not even carrying my cellphone in case I needed to call for help. I am an idiot. My husband will shake his head in dismay at my stupidity. I think of all the times I accuse him of still thinking he’s eighteen years old when he gets hurt playing tennis or working in the yard, and here I am, acting like Dora the Explorer, who is, after all, a cartoon.
And then I laugh out loud because I’m having…fun! I got to slide down a mudbank and slosh through a stream in boots filled with fresh water and soaked socks. I haven’t done that in about 55 years! Other than some scratches on my arms (which match the scratches on my legs from our puppy’s sharp little teeth), I’m totally okay. In fact, I’m better than okay.
I feel great.
Maybe I should be an idiot more often…Saved by Gracie: How a Rough-And-Tumble Rescue Dog Dragged Me Back to Health, Happiness, and God
