February | 2014 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

image by eric

1. Snow, the quiet and the white, the way it covers the back yard so Ringo doesn’t get into so much stuff that he shouldn’t, and snow tires so we can still get around in it.

2. Help for Sam. Our neurologist is going to share videos of his “thing” with her teacher, see if he can think of something we haven’t, and then we will be getting an MRI, to make sure we aren’t missing something. I can live with not knowing what it is if what we are doing is helping him and he’s stable, but he’s been getting worse, so it’s time to dig a little deeper. Keep him, and us, in your prayers, kind and gentle reader.

image by Eric

3. Sam and Ringo. I hadn’t realized how well they were actually getting along until I saw the contrast of Ringo with a group of new dogs at his first puppy class. Even though he wasn’t scared of things like the skateboard — we were warned to put our foot by the wheels because if it moved right away, it might spook our puppy, but instead Ringo immediately hopped on and tried to figure out how to ride it — he was too afraid to play with any of the other dogs. Not so with Sam.

4. Watching TV. I don’t get to do this much, and it’s been so relaxing when I do. An hour on the couch watching Downton Abbey calms me right down, seems like such a luxury.

5. Eric, having his support and companionship. Having someone who can run with Sam when it’s -11 degrees out.

Bonus Joy: Puppy class. Ringo most likely will need to go twice a week for a bit, just to get him used to being around strange dogs. It’s one of the only places he can go right now since he hasn’t had all his shots, and it’s a nice break from our routine.

Sad but necessary truth: Sam usually stays in the other half of the house when Ringo is awake with one of us in the kitchen/dining room. We are hoping this is a temporary situation, and even though Sam looks sad in this picture he’s much happier not having to worry about a bitey puppy right now, and he gets so much extra love and attention when Ringo is napping. We hope we can get his “situation” figured out, that he isn’t getting worse as we worry he is, that we can uncover a reason that is treatable, but no matter what happens he is so loved, has the best possible life we can give him. Sweet, sweet Sam.

Ringo is a working dog. Somehow I’d managed to forget that in the frustration, exhaustion of having a new puppy. Today, when I was trying to unload the dishwasher and he kept getting in the way, into everything, and when I was most frustrated, something shifted and I remembered: he might be a baby, but he already wants to work. So, I gave him something to do. He would get up and stand on the open door of the dishwasher (this is only possible because he’s not much more than 10 pounds right now), and I would get a treat, motion to the floor and say “off.” He loved it.