My Dog's Favorite, Free and Very Strange "Toy"
Oh, I am just pathetic. The last blog post I wrote was the fast food guide (when ordering for a lot of people) and I wrote that in August 2015. I wrote another post since then, but it was about a wood watch that was sent to me, so that doesn't really count. I think I'm ready for this blogging thing again, but only different. I took off all of the ads. I took off a lot of the extras in the side bar. I don't do this for money. It's just hard to find time to do it. My life is probably a lot like yours, which means there is not a wholelotta (is too a word) time for fizzle fartin' around writing a blog post.
But, this is 2016.
It's a new year.
I only mention this because I want this new year to be different. I want to make more time for creativity. I have sort of lost myself in work and in the carting of children to school, to practices and to other activities. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than present for my kids, of course, but I feel like I need to make more time for nonsense.
I need nonsense back into my life. I need the silliness. I need the lightheartedness.
I don't want to get into why my 2015 didn't contain a lot of the above because my year paled drastically in comparison to the year that others had in terms of profound sadness and despair. My eyes immediately sting with hot tears when I think of that. It always will. Forever.
I'm so very grateful for my faith in God. I know that many don't believe. I am not here to force you to believe anything that you don't want. I just know that my year would have swallowed me whole had it not been for Him catching me and helping me to see life from a different perspective.
So, I think I'll get back to this blogging thing, even if it is only once or twice a month. I want to get back to it the way that I started it. When I started writing it, I wrote it for fun. I wrote it for the handful of people that I knew read it from time to time. I didn't write it to catch Google's eye. Google can be quite the finicky friend. Google is half finicky friend and half Janet Jackson.
"What have you done for me lately? [Buh-dunna-dun-dun] OooooOOOOoooo, yeah!"
Such high expectations, that Google.
(But, seriously, if you are reading, Google, know that I would L-O-V-E to be on the creative team that decides how G-O-O-G-L-E will be dressed each day. So fun! Seriously, call me.)
This is the point where I should close this blog post off, but, you know, you came all the way over here to read this and all you've read was blah-blah-sentimental-blah-blah-seriousness. That is no good at all. So, can I tell you real quick-like about my dog? I'm going to take that blank stare as a big YES.
My dog turned a year old on December 6th. During her first year of life, we became pretty good friends. She is really tight with my two boys, though. They all have each other's backs. As much as we love and watch out for her, though, there is one thing she loves above all else.
It's not us.
It's not any toys that she has been given.
Nope, not food.
Not the lamp cord she severed in half.
Not water.
It's not even the paper towels she tries to eat when she happens to snag one.
Or other dogs that she meets at the park.
She does love her pink ball, but it's not even that. (The video of her playing fetch all by herself with it is right here. Super cute video, I must say.)
Nope, nope and nope.
Let me just say, when she first started playing with this in the yard, I had no clue what it was... I thought she was chasing around a mole that was underground. I changed my mind and later thought maybe there was a little mouse she was chasing around the yard, only the mouse was ALWAYS there and that was super gross. That wasn't likely. The next thing I thought about was that it could be water underground that she was hearing from the sprinkler system, or maybe even the pipes, and she was chasing the sound around the yard, only why would she be doing that when the sprinkler system wasn't on? Or water wasn't running in our house?
I was surprised when I found that her very most favorite thing in all of the world was this...
Yep. A rock.
She is absolutely, 100% MADLY IN LOVE with this rock. Only, it's just not this rock, but all the rocks like it. There are plenty to choose from in our backyard.
And also...
And that's just one side of the yard.
She would pack up her suitcase and leave us all for these rocks, if they ever decided to skip town.
When we get home from school in the afternoon, I will literally go outside, lounge back in a chair, take a 30 minute nap and let her play with her rock. If I gave her an hour, she'd play with it for an hour. She'd play with it for even longer. Sometimes she'll take a quick break to go to the bathroom, but, boy, does she keep that bathroom break to a minimum. She must get back to her rock tossing.
This is her in action with it.
She's almost scary with all of that mud around her face. She looks like she's from The Walking Dead. The Walking Dog. That'd be her show.
She sometimes tries to sneak one inside the house in her mouth, but we have to put our foot down somewhere. I won't enable her rock addiction to that degree. It is very much an addiction. She makes a frantic, delirious, joyful noise when she and the rock first come into contact in the afternoons. It's sort of the way I sound when I get some Chick-Fil-A nuggets and that most delicious Chick-Fil-A sauce. If you try to come between her and that rock, be ready to say goodbye to a few of your fingers. Again, sort of like me with those nuggets. Or a hot Shipley's glazed donut. DON'T EVEN.
So, that's it. That is her favorite toy and her very favorite thing in all the world.
Petco, call me. Maybe we can work something out.
(Pssst... Thanks for reading. I've missed you.)