#100 BLOG: DON'T BLINK

With April my heart is stirred with memories of remembered sounds. Stiff, itchy, nylon crinkling; tots being quietly hustled; serious adults directing the backstage bustle; tiny, nervous, giddy girls giggling; restrained, backstage, muffled tapping; lithe, solemn girls' delicate swooshing; and finally, enthusiatic applause still echo in my heart.

From the time our little girl was three, we were immersed in the annual dance recital ritual. Nerves weren't a problem for our little girl. In her first recital, she stole the show. Dancing in her little mouse costume, her blond curls glistening in the stage lights, she pranced around the stage with her classmates. As she left the stage, she stopped and signed "I Love You" to her Nana, and of course her parents. This unrehearsed act brought the house down. Well, honestly, how couldn't it? She smiled that winning smile and then pranced off the stage. Although the recital continued for the next couple of hours, the star had already performed.

Each year the dances became more complicated, the costumes more mature, the parents more involved and the talent more appreciated. What didn't change from that very first dance recital, was Nana sitting as close to the stage as possible. In her eyes, our daughter's dancing was the best, her talent the brightest and her beauty the purest.

To this day, we all hold the dance recitals as sweetest memories. Traditions were established that still are remembered. We were driving together the other day and our daughter caught sight of a familiar place, "I remember when Nana would take me to Dairy Queen for a banana split after recitals."

Although our little girl is now a mom herself, she is still Nana's little mouse who signed, "I love you" and brought down the house, so very long ago.

BENTLEY'S TOYS: Not found at Pestsmart

To update the readers who are interested in Bentley's adjustment to our family, the pictures above are representing Bentley's new "toys." Let's be clear, he does have store bought; inherited from Cubby; and toys given to him from his rescue shelter. Those ropey, chewy, floppy toys are enjoyed with gusto, but quite frequently Bentley seeks out other amusements. When he's quiet, I know that I have to rescue some forbidden object. Luckily, Crocs are durable and since I rescue them quickly, teeth marks have been slight.

On the other hand, the baby's blocks have "magically" appeared in the front yard and teeth marks have been left as proof of enjoyment. Since the Grandlove only has four little stubs of porcelain perfection, then the only logical suspect can be Bentley. His waggling tail expressed his delight as my husband hunted the yard for brightly colored blocks. Only two have been found, so far, but we'll see if other have been buried.

The other night, I prepared potatoes and when I returned to the kitchen to check on the boiling progress a whole potato had been retrieved from the bin and left on the floor for me. I guess Bentley thought the kettle wasn't full enough. Shaking my head and laughing I replaced the potato to the bin. No other time does Bentley get into the bin, except on the nights when I cook mashed potatoes. Funny little guy. I know that I have said this before, but I swear Cubby must be "channeling" his love for potatoes to Bentley and he's acting on this energy.

So, until next time, that's a little bit of Bentley's world. He is a charming, black streak of lightning who is still bringing joy to our world. We are grateful and healing.

WARNING: DUMB PEOPLE ARE EVERYWHERE

There really is no good reason for this blog, except that dumb people keep doing dumb things and I am afraid that they are multiplying. The pictures above are people proving how totally stupid they are.

It is clear to me the Crossroad area can't claim all the dumb people, but let's all be sure to wear our boots in Victoria, Texas. It's pretty deep in the Crossroads area and I don't mean that we're up to eyeballs in gold and other riches.

I have included the picture of the little blue pills, here, since the expert (Kenneth) swears by this medicine when applied. Let's see if my blog is enhanced.

WEEK ONE: Laughter brings our breath back

Time has past quickly in this week of adjustments. We have adjusted to having a different little life's companion and he has taken control of this family's heart quiet nicely, thank you. We went to our vet for a check up and a kind lady in the waiting room blessed us for rescuing a dog and my heartfelt reply to her was, "Thank you, Ma'am, but actually he rescued us from the despair of losing a loved one." She understood as did all the kind people at the vet's office.

One look at Bentley's trusting face and a quick pet to his thick fur and he owns every one's hearts. When our dear vet was examining Bentley, I remarked, "You know he's not like Cubby at all." Travis smiled and said, "Yeah, I know, but he'll find a place in your heart soon enough." I have to admit that Bentley has already given us much more in this week than we could have even hoped to receive.

My husband shared that the enormous weight on his chest has eased to the point that he can finally breath again. Once again, his sparkling blue eyes light up when he calls Bentley to go for a walk, leave some paper product alone or snuggle with him.

Adjusting to a new dog's needs and quirks has taken a bit of time, but it was soon clear that Bentley choosing to sleep next to the pillow of his master with nose tucked under the adjoining pillow. Potty training continues and we are learning the subtle signs for opening the door. Barking isn't one of Bentley ways of communicating, yet, so we must be very Zen with his needs. It's a learning time for all of us, that's for sure.

An area of concern was the fact that we were in charge of the Grandlove from Thursday until Sunday morning. We loaded Bentley up for the two hour car ride to "The Kids." It seems that Bentley's bladder and mine are about the same capacity, so the stopping schedule didn't have to be adjusted on the journey. Sitting on my lap with a pillow under him seem to make him more nervous; riding in the back of the car actually calmed him down.

Car seat in the middle of the back, me next to said car seat and Bentley on my lap entertaining the baby was the comical way we made the return trip. Luckily the baby has a deep love for animals, so he was relaxed with the tickling of the black fuzz ball in the backseat. Once we got in, we didn't know how a new dog, a crawling baby and all the toys would work out, but we soon found out.

If the baby had a toy, Bentley needed to investigate and taste it; all baby snacks were fair game if left within muzzle reach; dog toys were more interesting, to the baby, than anything Fisher Price had made; plastic spoons for kettle beating were stolen; and stacking cups tasted really yummy.

One time I couldn't find the little black fuzz ball, until I spotted his pink, lolling tongue. Bentley was under the jeep walker and the baby was giving him a massage with his chubby bare toes. I know that the baby was enjoying the soft "rug" under his feet because I swear both my "boys" were grinning.

All our worries about the combination of baby and dog were for naught and the days with our Grandlove passed too quickly. When we were packing up the mountain of baby equipment and my husband began to load it into the car, he came back into the house for me. It seems that Bentley took his job of baby care quite seriously, for he had retrieved one of the baby bottles from the side pocket of the diaper bag and carried it to the gate. No nibble marks or anything, just a little "Mother's Helper."

Our journey with Bentley will continue for a long while and it will be all new and uniquely his experience. We are looking forward to the future with very dear, cherished memories of our past with Cubby.

Day Three: Learning Daily Obligations

Today started off with a quick, wet nose snuggling next to my neck (that would be Bentley's nose, not hubby's.) Throughout the morning, our little companion closely followed our movements throughout the house. After hubby went to work, there were a couple of times that I brushed Bentley's coat, while teaching him the command, "Brush." Soon, I am sure that he will come to receive the delightful back scratching of the brush. It will take patience and time, but who can resist the scratching of the out of the way places?

"Load Up" is still a new command that will take repetitive practice, so we gave it a shot today. A quick, short walk before attempting entering the car prepared him for a boost into the towel cushioned seat. I could tell that he was scared, nervous and unsure of the outcome of the car trip. Soothing, sweet, encouraging words accompanied soft, reassuring fingers touching his soft fur. Shivering a bit and looking at me with pleading eyes couldn't persuade me to unloop his leash from the handle.

We arrived at my husband's work and another hurdle was refused. Bentley refused to walk into the building; fright caused him to flatten. Scooping him up and cooing sounds of reassurance relaxed him. All the "girls" of the office are true animal lovers and understand that time is necessary when greeting an anxious pet. It only took a few minutes on my lap to ease Bentley's anxiety. Soon he was greeting the "girls" and enjoying their warm greetings. We all relaxed and he enjoyed the added attention.

Soon the door opened, which turned Bentley's tail into a wagging machine. In walked his "daddy" and it was clear that seeing him lit up Bentley's world. Arriving from a friend's funeral was a sad man, who couldn't help but be delighted with the obvious adoration of Bentley.

After the smile-producing journey to town, we loaded up and headed home. The ride home wasn't as frightening, so Bentley relaxed and slept. Good sign that he will learn that car trips are to be enjoyed and not feared. We are overwriting scary with good travel experiences.

Once home, we had dinner to prepare and mashed potatoes were on the menu. I was used to having curiosity under my feet as I cooked. He watched my peeling, cutting and plopping potato pieces into the kettle. Leaving the kettle on the stove to do its thing, I retired to the living room. Caught up on my email, while the potatoes cooked and Bentley snacked (or so I thought.) When I decided that enough time had passed to produced cooked potatoes, I went to the kitchen, where I discovered what Bentley had been busy doing. Lined up on the floor, forming a nice little potato parade were three undamaged potatoes marching from the potato bin towards the living room. I guess Bentley decided that maybe we were hungrier than I planned for and we needed more potatoes in the pot. Laughing from my heart I replaced the potatoes to a higher location and gave Bentley an appreciative pat on his head.

After all, potatoes were Cubby's favorite vegetable. He would stand on his hind legs and watch as potatoes were peeled and cut, knowing that he would receive a few chunks of raw potatoes. So when Bentley found the potato bin and participated in the process, it gave me a new memory that softened the loss of Cubby.

DAY TWO: He's already helping us to heal

Many will walk in and out of your life, but only a true friend will leave paw prints on your heart.

~Anonymous


We have spent twenty-four hours with our new family member and he's already leaving his footprints on our desolate hearts.

Throughout the day, his inquisitive mind let him begin to explore the yard, the stretchability of his "bird toy" while he kept coming by to make sure that I was still part of his world. A quick scratch, silly words or reassurance helped him relax and accept this as his family.

At the end of the day, I introduced him to the nightly tradition of waiting on the front porch and then running to the gate to greet his "daddy." After a quick rewind of his memories of the morning, our little Bentley arrived at the gate with a wiggly, prancing, "Hello, welcome home." Smiling and a little playing on the floor began to ease the oppressive sorrow from my husband's shoulders.

Stay tuned, because we are new in this healing and I know we aren't alone.

Thank you for all the reads, posts and good wishes.

Warmly, Ferret

DAY ONE: Our new adventure begins

We picked up our new baby today at the animal rescue shelter. Since the last time we brought home a dog it was to bury him, I wanted to make sure that my husband met me there. He walked Bentley to the truck with the usual orders, "Load Up." A boost up and a looped leash to the handle secured Bentley to the passenger side. A wide smile took over the sorrowful face of my husband. Following him out of the parking lot, I saw him releasing the leash and allowing his new copilot to relax in his lap. Once we got home, he said that Bentley was a bit nervous and being in his lap relaxed him. Training for the driver will continue.

Took these quick photos of our new little guy. He comes to us without any known history, so we are making it up as we go along. It's easy to see that even though he's little, he is full of love, energy and adventure craving genes. Quick adjustments to the gate into the backyard, because his curious nature helped him squeeze past the post.

Even though his first year of life must have been anything but "puppy friendly" he'll learn to play, trust and love. Toys are new to him, but our family is patient and playing can be taught. In fact, I just heard a tentative squeak from a toy behind my chair. We left one of Cubby's toys out and he became interested in this duck earlier today. A couple of new toys, a brush and lots of attention have entertained him today.

I must say that tears are just below the surface, still and yet when I hold this needy little guy I find that I have plenty of left over love to give Bentley.