Thursday, April 23, 2009

Boomer- Fearless Wonder Puppy

I’m learning a lot from my new puppy, Boomer. Yes, we got a new puppy, who is a German Shorthaired pointer and his AKC name is Young Baron Von Boomer. (It still makes me laugh to say it!!)
Oddly enough, he came from a breeder in Boyd, Texas, which is the same city of origin for the new Presidential dog, Bo. I looked it up on Mapquest and they were born about 6 miles apart!
The other amazing thing is that my husband, Steve, wanted to name the dog Bo (same name as the new dog in the White House) but I didn’t want a dog with the same name as an Ex-husband. Call me crazy, but I thought it would be weird!
Boomer is all legs and ears at this point, velvety smooth and all over chocolate, although the breeder says it’s called “liver.” (Yuck! Imagine calling a beautiful puppy anything even closely resembling a body part!) Anyway, he has a small patch of white “ticking” on his chest and beautiful, golden eyes that peer right into your soul. He is so trusting and sweet.
He barks when he sees us and gets really excited. In fact, he’s learned the noise Steve’s remote alarm makes when he clicks it when he gets home and the barking and excitement begin even BEFORE he sees either one of us. When it’s time to eat, he dives in both the food bowl and the water bowl with enthusiasm. He sloshes water all over the place with his paws and his ears and dribbles droplets from his chin.
And, he is also fearless. My husband noticed it first when he said, “Have you noticed how if Boomer wants something, he just walks over and takes it?” Even if another one of our dogs is playing with a certain toy or chew thing, he just walks up to the other dog and helps himself! He takes toys and chew sticks and, well, anything he wants. If they take it away from him, he just tries it again or goes for something else.
He doesn’t cry or whine or seem to get upset. Instead, he just goes for it. Don’t you wish you could be like Boomer? Totally fearless, a true risk-taker, with no doubts and all of the confidence in the world!
That’s true “Law of Attraction” in motion: I want it, I get it. Cool!
When I grow up, I want to be just like Boomer!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Thank You, Cousin Linda!

My favorite cousin turned 60 a few weeks ago. I had totally lost track of time and it took me by surprise. Oh, I’m 54 and I know she’s 6 years older…I can do the math, but I simply hadn’t thought about it. So when she said “turning 60 was better than turning 50,” I had to smile.

My Cousin Linda was a great friend to me and more like an older sister in many ways. When I was in grades 5 and 6, I would sometimes go to her neighboring town and spend the night on Friday nights. Often, I would get to go out with her and her older brother and go to the drive-in hamburger stand. We would get cherry Cokes and giggle and make stops along the way for “Chinese Fire Drills.” Sometimes, her boyfriend went and his girlfriend went and they made their little brother go to act as my “date.” I felt so grownup! (Imagine a car that would hold 4 people in the back seat! That was a HUGE Chevy!)

Then, we would go back to her house and read “Tiger Beat” and listen to the radio. Sometimes, she would play her ukulele and sing songs like “Teen Angel.” It was a beautiful, innocent time.
Soon, she went off to college and I was left to my middle school years and no way to go “out” on a Friday night.

I’m thinking about all of the things I learned from my Cousin Linda and her generosity toward someone younger. She was always so patient with me, teaching me the “hula dance” AND the hula hoop. Showing me how to twirl a baton and letting me practice with her lipstick and makeup. Showing me how to “tease” my hair. She also modeled reverence for God and took me to church on those times I stayed over Saturday night!

Thank you, Cousin Linda for your love and generosity.