Day 318

3/30/23

Dog-Tired! The definition is:
Extremely tired; worn out.

If there had been a picture to go with that definition, I would have voted for this one!

Ranger and I had the joy of reading with first graders at a local elementary school this morning. These little people are delightful, charming and eager to share! When asked how she had learned to read so well, one young girl answered, "I was born to read"! Delightful, indeed!

Ranger listens and snuggles in with all the readers on our list, but he also fields a number of children passing by our spot. The reactions range from surprise to glee, but almost all of these children need to touch the big Golden and have their moment with him. He eats it up!

When we leave the building, he jumps into the Subaru and collapses on the bed in the back. He is literally Dog-Tired.

Thinking back to my own life, I have been Dog-Tired a number of times. Raising four babies (twins made up half that number), taking care of elderly parents and loved ones, burning the educational candle at both ends and in the middle and PUPPIES were all acts of love and I wouldn't trade a moment.

There have been other times when I have gone beyond the limit of exhaustion, but it was always my choice. For example, rollerblading WAY too far and then having to backtrack all the way back to the car would be a bad choice. Traveling can make for some true exhaustion...again my choice. Also physical activity, without a nod to my age, can be brutal.

One of those physical choices happened a number of years ago when the thermometer read well into the 100's and the humidity was elevated. I had mowed my own yard and was just finishing up the neighbor's when a police car pulled up. The officer slowly emerged from the air-conditioned vehicle and motioned for me to turn the mower off. When I did, he informed me that the heat index was so high that I needed to stop immediately! Being ME, I told him I only had a few more swaths to finish the job. Shaking his head, he told me he would get back in his car and watch me in case he needed to dial 911. I finished...bad choice...but it looked pretty!

Another time, I decided to salvage our 100-year-old wall surrounding our home. The city was doing road construction and the wall needed replacing. As the bobcat tore at my beloved wall, I would take large blocks and throw them up on the lawn. Mac joined in and then, suddenly, the foreman of the entire project stopped his truck and asked us if we had basically lost our minds. I explained that the wall held a spot in my heart with many memories of walking on it, falling off it and holding generations of children's hands as they took their turn traversing the concrete. He shook his head, called off the bobcat and took over the job of throwing the blocks up in the yard! What a guy! Of course, I had to "dolly" them over to the house to form garden beds, but that was my poor choice. (I guess that would be double the bad choice!)

Being Dog-Tired can be a good thing, even when the initial choice is not in the best interest of health and well-being. With my Goldens, their exhaustion comes from giving their entire heart and soul to the people at hand or paw. Whether it is seniors, hospital friends, young readers or simply that person on our walk by the river, their "Dog-Tired" is always a good choice...sharing love.