Day 904

This girl loves to bark! Lilly barks at cars, walkers, squirrels and other dogs, When a person has the audacity to walk by with a dog, she sounds the alarm!

When she barks, I often wonder what she is trying to say. She doesn’t seem to be agitated or vicious, so I believe she is just barking to say ‘Hey you! What’s going on? Come on over so I can sniff you!’ The longer the dog is in her sight, the louder the bark!

People seem to parallel our girl. When someone is speaking loudly, they seem to have a purpose. Their audience might not be paying close enough attention, so the “barking” becomes more persistent.

When we are visiting either end of the age spectrum, paying attention is crucial to their self-worth. They simply need to be heard!

With our Reading Buddies, we often end our reading time by asking a question pertaining to the book. Hands fly up in the air! Their answers are sometimes barely connected to the question, but their sincerity is pure. I honor those questions with respect. No matter what they share, it is so critical to leave them with their self-worth intact.

Seniors are just the same…only about 80 years older. With their questions and stories, eye contact and a lot of nodding is all they require. Also, patience…

Honoring anyone’s addition to a conversation is so important. Everyone, young or old, simply wants to be heard. I guess dogs are not so different!