| To: E'Lane who wrote (91) | 10/11/1999 9:05:00 AM |
| From: William Brotherson | Read Replies (4) | Respond to of 2585 |
| |
Good Morning Everyone,
It must be a dogs month, every other story I come across is about pets. Think about todays story!!!!!!!!!!
Todays Story:
LUCY
The honeymoon was definitely over. Although Larry and
I had been married less than a year, we were headed for
disaster. My expectations of marriage were high - probably
too high. My parents' relationship had been happy, loving,
full of laughter and mutual respect. Larry didn't come to
the marriage with the same kind of dreams and he felt
pressured by my needs. Our home was not a happy one, with
tensions, resentment and hurt feelings seething just below
the surface. We just couldn't communicate.
It was during this rocky time that I had the idea to
get a dog. Larry and I talked about it and he said a dog
would be fine, as long as it wasn't a "yappy little thing."
He had grown up with German Shepherds and liked them. I
called the local pound and asked if they had a German
Shepherd who needed a home. It just so happened that they
had a white German Shepherd mix, so I went right over to see
the dog.
At the pound, I made my way to the white dog's cage.
She was part Shepherd all right, but the other part must
have been Mexican Jumping Bean. She moved like she had
springs on the bottoms of her four paws, continuously
jumping five feet in the air and barking enthusiastically -
just the way a kid waves his arms and yells, "Pick me! Pick
me! Me! Me! Me!" when captains are choosing their teams. I
took her out of the run and she tore around the room,
stopping only to jump up on me and try to lick my face as
she streaked by. I was impressed by her vibrant
personality.
I brought Larry to see her a few hours later and he
liked her well enough for us to walk out with her. She
strained on her leash, obviously eager to leave the pound
behind.
We named her Lucy and she and I became best friends. I
loved getting up in the early morning and walking her when
the streets were quiet. A long walk in the park every
afternoon became another wonderful part of our daily
routine. She liked to be wherever I was, watching me or
snoozing in the sun as I went about my housework and
gardening. I took her in the car when I went into town to
do errands and she sat in the back seat, her nose stuck out
of the window to sniff the wind. I found her company
entertaining and comforting. Larry seemed to like her too.
As the weeks went by, I felt happier and more centered.
I have to admit that I talked to Lucy when we were alone
together during the day. I even made up silly songs and
sang them to her when we were out driving. She seemed to
like the sound of my voice and she wagged her tail and
always looked right at me when I told her things. I relished
my position at the center of her universe.
One evening, I was showing Larry a silly game that Lucy
and I played - I would stand in front of Lucy and poke her
with my right hand a few times, then when she was expecting
a poke from the right, I'd poke her from the left. Then a
poke from the top, and then from the bottom. She seemed to
love trying to figure out where my hand would come from
next. We were playing this game when Larry came up behind
me and started playing too. I leaned back into the warm
bulk of Larry's chest and his arms closed around me. We
stood like that for a moment, before I turned around and
held him tight. We hadn't done that for a long time.
Things began to fall into place after that. All that
canine companionship had enabled me to stop demanding love
and attention from Larry - and as I felt happier, I was able
to be more loving and certainly more fun to be around. Our
wounds began to heal and our marriage started to blossom.
We've been married for over ten years now. When people
ask me the secret of our happy partnership, I always tell
them, "It's simple. If you want dog-like devotion.get a
dog!"
Carol Kline
Have a great day all !!!!!
wb |
