May 22, 2009
Expect the Unexpected (Or Accept the Unexpected…Either Way…You are NOT in control!)
“You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
My life is fairly predictable. I get up, take care of my morning business, wait patiently for my breakfast, which sometimes I eat and sometimes I don’t, go for a walk and then begin work. For me work, as many of you know, involves walking and playing with dogs. Not a bad gig, but sometimes things don’t go as planned.
Take today, for instance. Our first walk was with Lucy promptly at 9 this morning, but Lucy wasn’t there. Since our day was packed full, we didn’t have any time to wait and though we felt bad, we had to get a move on and miss our time with Lucy (Sorry Lucy!). That wasn’t expected.
Next up was Monty and as we headed out for a walk, who did we run into?
Gemma! That’s right. Not so little Gemma was out on a walk with her dad and we met up to play a little fetch at the field. Gemma was happy to see us and likewise, we were thrilled to have a chance to play fetch. Monty, who is still recovering, was only able to play a little fetch, but I got to run to my heart’s content and Gemma ran right alongside me as she always does. That was unexpected!
Oh, and that’s not me in the picture to the left. That’s another (unexpected) dog whose name escapes me at the moment (it’s been that kind of day!). He was a nice guy though he kept trying to get fresh with me, which I didn’t like very much, but Gretchen kept the ball flying and the other dog had a hard time keeping up.
Gemma didn’t!
In her typical Gemma style she flew after me again and again, biting at my ears and my tail — anything she could get a hold of — and pestered me as much as she could.
She also pestered the other dogs, but not as much as she likes to pester me.
Monty got put on a leash after about 5 throws of the ball, but Gemma and I kept playing until both of us got really really warm and sought the shade for some needed cooling off.
Unexpected romp and rest with unexpected friends…new and old!
Okay, maybe it wasn’t all unexpected. We did participate in some of the same routines we normally do, like walking Rufus and Riley though I suppose they never expected Gretchen to make them to pose for a 3-dog portrait. As you can tell, it didn’t go as expected!
Gretchen worked really hard to get us all into position. I was put into a sit/stay. Rufus sat obediently, but Riley wanted nothing to do with sitting. He’s all nose, remember, and so smelling everything around him was more important than being a good dog.
Rufus held his pose until Gretchen backed away and squatted down to take the picture. Rufus saw this as an invitation to check her pockets because sometimes that’s where she keeps the treats.
Not this time, but he had hope.
Can’t you just see the hope in his eyes?
Meanwhile, Riley decided I smelled pretty good and only because I was in a sit/stay did I let him get a good whiff!
We walked along the trail today (the opposite direction from yesterday’s bear sighting) and Gretchen let us run through the tall grass. For some it’s taller than others…
Rufus can keep up with me for only so long and then he falls behind…
Riley, on the other hand, choses to stay behind…or should I say beside. He’s taken a liking to me and that was a bit unexpected, too!
We got pretty hot pretty quickly and slowly (ever-s0-slowly) we made our way back to their house where they received some treats before we left. Next up? Well, unexpectedly Gretchen took me back to the house. I thought for sure I would walk with Oshi and Perrito (I usually do) but she felt I’d had a long week and already some good exercise so she took me home to hang out with Monty. But most unexpected of all, we got fed some lunch a tad bit early and that is always a welcome treat!
Gretchen took Oshi and Perrito out to the field across the way. She let them drag their leashes across the playing fields and for Perrito, this was an unexpected delight. He apparently romped with great relish!
Oshi ran a bit, but mostly he rolled around in the grass. Now that was expected!
Gretchen sat down in the sun and watched as the boys did their thing — Perrito chasing shadows and Oshi hanging loose…
And then, unexpectedly (which I suppose you expected) Perrito decided rolling in the grass and getting rubbed on the belly was a lot more fun than romping. He flopped right down next to Gretchen and had at it!
Gerta was next and she was a tad bit disappointed that only Gretchen came for her walk today. She expected to see me or perhaps Monty, but instead, just Gretchen. She got over it pretty quickly, though!
Gerta decided that rolling in the grass and getting rubbed on her belly was a great idea as well and gave lots of smiles to prove it!
They were both (Gretchen and Gerta) disappointed to know that they couldn’t play golf. Somehow, I think they expected they could get a round or two in before the walk ended, but all signs pointed to deflating this expectation…
So they continued on their walk and Gretchen unexpectedly stopped at the Bamboo House for a photo. The Bamboo House is our name for the house on the corner with thousands of bamboo plants around it. I mean thousands in every shape, size, and color. This photo doesn’t do the house justice, but it was an unexpected respite in the shade for Gerta!
Then something truly unexpected happened. Monty and I waited patiently at home for Gretchen’s return when who should walk in the door with her? Teabiscuit!
She hung out with us in the backyard for awhile, but I had no knowledge of why. Usually we go get her, but when the door opened, there she was on the doorstep happy to see us…well, almost happy. She’s a bit unsure of Monty, but she made great strides this afternoon letting Monty do what Monty loves to do the most — sniff things!
Usually Teabiscuit curls her lips when Monty gets this close, but today she unexpectedly waited for him to be done with it and then they hung out on the deck together. Now who would have expected that?!
I hung out with them (well, I’m actually watching a plane overhead) and then we all went for a walk. That’s when the unexpected day ended in an unexpected way.
First, we took Monty home so he could continue resting and healing his sore leg.Then we headed back to our house when Gretchen got in the car with Teabiscuit to take her home when only 15 minutes later, she returned with Teabiscuit still in the car.
Guess who’s spending the weekend with us?
Eleanor Roosevelt was right — you have to accept whatever comes your way. I’ve accepted our weekend guest with courage, if I do say so myself. And Teabiscuit can rest assured that I’ll give our time together the best that I can give.
I mean, what’s a dog to do? I’m clearly not in control here!
Have a great weekend!
Rubin (with Teabiscuit close by!)
