Puppy love

This is my bulldog, Meatloaf.  For the past two years since our daughter Maggie was born, he has probably received entirely too little attention.  I'm always busy, busy, busy.  Busy with the baby, with work, with chores, with errands.  Suddenly, I realized that life is passing by.  The baby is not a baby. She's two.  Tomorrow she'll be in high school and the next day she'll be leaving home for college.  Meatloaf is 5.  He's about half way through his expected life cycle.  Time simply cannot continue to just pass.  So today, Meatloaf and I went for a walk, just the two of us.  While Meatloaf sniffed (and marked) every single tree, fire hydrant, and sign post in sight, I took in the sunshine, the breeze, the smells of the leaves and fresh cut grass.  I listened to the birds and the cars and the lawnmowers.  When it was silent, I listened to the silence.  Silence is quite calming.  Listen for it in between the noise.  Without the silence, there would be no sound.  As we continued our walk, I realized how very grateful I was to find joy in such simple pleasures, and that it was my dog that reminded me to find it. Dogs are such wonderful companions.  They don't judge, they don't gossip, they don't care what you look like or the mistakes you've made.  They love you for you.  If you have a pet, give it some love today.