Day 632
Relationships can be many things...precious, loving, tricky, challenging, destructive and practically any other adjective known to humans. Depending on focus, longevity and depth of these "people connections," the impact can be on a continuum touching your heart on an outer layer all the way to the depths of your being.
When we do our Therapy Dogging, most of our encounters are on a surface level. We stop to chat for a moment and discuss the weather, dogs in their life, a pretty jacket or anything that connects without going too deep. On any given visit, whether at the hospital, schools or senior complexes, many would fall into this category. It seems we always part with a smile.
There are other times when our visits find us connecting much deeper. For example, yesterday at the hospital, we approached a middle-aged couple with our standard question, "Do you like dogs?" Typically, I can tell be a glance if people want to meet Ranger or Lilly, so I was not surprised when they actually held out their arms to greet her. As we chatted, I discovered their son (just past his teens) was having some very scary tests and they were waiting to see him in recovery. As the conversation continued, I learned that this pair had waited for years to welcome a child and finally opted for adoption. Their only son, they would argue about who was lucky enough to get the baby out of the crib each morning. Now this twist of fate had stopped them in their tracks. Ranger and I stayed with them until it was time for them to see their son and learned so much about this amazing family. With tears in all of our eyes, we went our separate ways. I will never forget that meeting. Within 15 minutes, the closeness of our relationship became palpable.
Today, Lilly and I meandered down to Walker Plaza for one of our two weekly visits. Some of the relationships within those walls have been life-altering for me while others bring me joy with little heart investment. This morning, one of my "regulars" needed to unload about life in general. When Lilly and I got up to leave, he gave us both a hug and said to me, "I love you and have been trying to put into words what you mean to me. I finally came up with it. You are like my little sister...are you okay with that?" I told him I had never had a big brother before and was delighted to have him fill that role. He is a gem.
Another of my favorites shared a word of wisdom. He told me his uncle once said, "I don't need to be rich, but when I die, I hope I only have one dollar more than I ever needed." Hmmm...food for thought!
All in all, my Golden teams bring such joy to my life. With those furry, smiling faces, it seems that people are willing to start a friendship with varying depths. Once again, I am so happy to be at the other end of the leash!
