What Are You Teaching Your Children?

July 16, 2017

At the North Rim Drive Upper Falls Overlook, there was a sign indicating no pets beyond a certain point that would take the visitor to the actual point of the overlook. The sign included a symbol that was unmistakable.  A gentleman with some sort of bulldog was dutifully sitting in the shade, waiting for his traveling companion(s) to return. 

As we walked in, there was a young family with two children and two dogs, trying to get the children and dogs to pose on some sort of statue.  This irritates me, that the parents would blatantly disobey rules in front of and including their children in the activity.  What are they teaching their children?  I happened to notice the car this family was traveling in, and had occasion to observe how the father was driving. His driving skills were no better at following the rules of the road than were his obedience to signs at a tourist attraction.

Additionally, I saw an older woman, perhaps my age, with her poodle type dog beyond the dogs allowed area. She was not with anyone, so I suppose she had a choice of missing the attraction, taking her dog with her, or locking him in the car for an undetermined amount of time, during which the dog might suffer from heat illness.

I used to travel along with a dog, Mack, and made a point not to go where the dog could not go, or leave the dog in the car for less than 10-15 minutes: buying gas, getting fast food, or maybe checking into a motel.  And often, when I checked into a motel, if I had more than one bag, the dog walked in and out with me to get my things.   There was once, the last trip I made to the Northeast with Mack, when he did not want to leave the hotel room after I got my first load in.  I could not blame him, it was bitter cold outside and the room was very snug.  He had done his business, so there was no reason to force him out again, and besides, he would let me know if he needed to go out.

Traveling with a dog is a wonderful experience, but it has its own special challenges.  I admit, the first time I travelled alone with Mack, I had not planned for all of those challenges, but most, I had planned for.  After that, I knew what I was doing and felt I always went well prepared.

Perhaps the family with the two dogs had not planned for all of the challenges they would meet while traveling with the two dogs, but this was a no brainer:  the adults just took turns going to the observation point, while one stayed behind with the dogs!  I know dogs are family, but there are sometimes special rules for these members of our families. 

Hideout

I felt really bad the morning after Christmas.  During the night, I thought I heard Sake crying, and got up to check on her. She seemed okay, so I went back to bed.  It happened again, and again I checked, and went back to bed.  Very, very early that morning, I got up and realized that Taki had not come to bed to bother me as is her early morning habit. Both she and Haiku jump on me, walk all over me, lay on me, and scratch at me almost every morning. Sake does that sometimes when she is feeling good, and there were no leftovers accessible overnight, or when she is feeling bad, and wants to eat, but does not feel well enough to eat.

Well, Haiku was in bed, and Sake was resting, what looked like comfortably, in the living room. So, I opened the garage door, and there was Taki.  She did not seem frightened or distressed.  The night had been mild so the garage was not really any colder than the house.  I just did not realize she had been in the garage.  I realize I had been in it late, and she probably snuck in, which she sometimes does, without my knowledge. 

What was really interesting to me was how very much her cry for help was like Sake's cry when she is not feeling well.  I do not think I had heard that particular vocalization from Taki before. I will remember that and not be satisfied with checking on Sake when I hear it.

As I said, I felt bad, but she seemed none the worse for wear.

This morning, I woke about 3:40 AM and could not go back to sleep.  I tried my various go back to sleep tricks, but none worked, so I got up and read. I was sitting on the reclining sofa, and there were times that Sake joined me, but she left when Taki joined me at the other end of the sofa.  Taki scratched at the end of the sofa, and Haiku was on my lap for a large part of the time.

Well, the clock ticked on, and I never became sleepy enough to go back to bed, so I finally got up and fixed cat breakfast. Twice. Early, about 5:30 AM and later, about 7:00 AM.  And, Taki missed both meals.  This concerned me.  Taki does not miss a meal, she does not miss breakfast, she does not miss dinner, she does not miss treats, she does not miss snacks, she does not miss food.

But, she did this morning.  So, I checked the garage, and she was not there. So, then I checked under the sofa, and sure enough, she was there. I do not get how she does that.  Is she crawling in when I have the leg rest up?  But she was under the other section this time, which she could do, from the section with the raised leg rest.  Or does she crawl in from the opening in the back, and not know how to get out? (Some days, she seems to know how to push open doors, or pull them open, but other times, it seems to be a totally foreign concept to her.) 

The thing is, between the first and second breakfast, I was sitting on the sofa with the leg rest up.  So if she climbed in under the raised leg rest, and then migrated to the other end of the sofa, why did she not migrate back when I raised the leg rest again?  I do not  understand.

Once again, she did not seem worse for the wear.  I am not trying to be nonchalant about her escapades, I am just relieved that she does not seem to be stressed by them.

It has been about a year since the last time Taki got herself stuck under the sofa.  I hope she does not do it again anytime soon.

I Am So Blessed

I think about my life and how things are for me, and I am so blessed.  I have good friends. I have concerned coworkers. I have an extended family who are there if I need them.  I have fun pets. I have a career that I enjoy, and that I feel allows me to contribute back to society.  I can participate in my professional organization and have good colleagues with whom I can interact, receive support, and with whom I can work in harmony.  I am able to give back to my community by volunteering on a board of directors of a non-profit agency that is well respected and does good works in the community. I have access to health care if I need it. I have a home. I am able to express my feelings, negative or positive, to my elected officials about the state of the government.  I am able to participate in activities which I enjoy.

I am so blessed.  I am sure I have missed some of my blessings. Count your blessings. They are probably many, more that we might initially think about.