What A Year!

It's hard to believe it, but we now have a year under our belts of writing this blog.  It's given me some time to reflect on things that led up to my starting this blog.  As I look back, it's kind of funny how things happened through time to lead me to that point.

One of the first things that happened for me was that I began to read another blog that was just starting 2004.  It involved a greyhound and a labrador at the time.  It is now an extremely popular blog that has evolved into a very clever and entertaining read.  At the time, it didn't occur to me that I could do anything that entertaining, so I simply enjoyed reading it when there were updates.  The name of that blog, for those who are interested, is Life With Dogs.  The stories that he would write are still some of the funniest I've ever read!

Four years later, I lost my heart dog, Treat.  She was the first dog that my husband and I shared our lives with as adults and as a married couple and she was an important part of me growing into who I am.  I often posted on a few other boards using her voice and she was a bit famous in a few circles.  I wrote about her passing on several boards and as I did, I reflected on the many funny stories of our life together.  Treat was simply a larger than life personality.  People who met her in person were suprised by how small she seemed after they imagined her much larger. 

Not long after she passed away, to help deal with the grief, we brought home Bunny.  Who would have imagined that I'd get another tiny greyhound with a larger-than-life personality?  I also admit that I never intended to bring home a greyhound who was practically still a puppy.  She was just eighteen months old when we brought her home although she acts much calmer than most greyhounds her age.  Blueberry was a wild child when she was the age Bunny is now.  It was so much fun seeing Bunny discover the world and I realized that I didn't want to miss the lifetime of stories that would unfold during our life together.  I wanted to remember it all, and find a way to share it.  I didn't want to miss the special moments in any of our hounds' lives if I could help it.

I never dreamed that there would be other people who would be interested in what I had to write.  It's been a pleasant surprise.  We've met other writers and dogs through the blogs that we've found, grown some here and celebrated successes and shared losses.  I can't say how grateful I am to those who have offered us encouragement as we've grown and followed our journey.  Hopefully, we'll be writing and sharing entertaining stories of our life for many years to come!  Thank you to everyone who has made this such a wonderful year for us!

Things To Be Thankful For

As Thanksgiving arrives for those of us here in the United States, I'm reflecting on things that I'm thankful for.  Certainly I'm thankful that my husband and I both have jobs at a time when many people do not.  I'm thankful for our home and that the vehicles are running well at the moment.  We live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world which is also a blessing.  Our loved ones are blessed with good health, as are we.  Really, our lives are richly blessed and I'm glad that we can see that.

Of course, there are three furry little bodies here that I'm thankful for, too.  I'm thankful that they followed me through the kitchen, offering taste testing and clean up services in the kitchen as I made pies and cookies to take to our meal today.  Each one of them offers us their own unique gifts.

Thanks to Lilac for reminding us that life is best enjoyed at your own pace.  She reminds us that life is best when lived to the fullest, whether that's with a good nap in the sunshine or a burp in the face after a good meal.  Lilac believes that if you love somebody, you should let them know with a good snuggle and nose in the face if need be to get their attention.

Thanks to Blueberry for letting us enjoy the bliss of just being together.  She lives to make us laugh and will actually smile to herself when she thinks she's gotten a good one in and she loves to keep us on our toes.  Blueberry believes that you show your love by making your loved ones happy and she makes sure that she does that daily.

Thanks to Bunny for being her sweet little self.  She just can't help being sweet, snuggly and adorable.  Bunny believes that if you love somebody, you stay as close to them as you possibly can and hold on to them with both paws if you have to.

We hope that everyone finds something to be thankful for today, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or it's just another day at work for you.  Sometimes we all need to count our blessings to remember how rich in spirit we truly are.  Did I mention that three greyhounds will be thankful for turkey leftovers later today as well?