Sunday, April 26, 2009

Life Lessons From My Hostess Snowball


One cold and rainy morning, a little over two years ago, I received a call from one of my friends. She found a small puppy on her doorstep. I took him home and named him "Dexter." He was white and fluffy, reminding me of a Hostess Snowball, except for his disproportionately large paws. Though I thought he was a Lab mix, he never really grew into his paws, he remained a small dog. Now, he looks like a dog made up of mismatched parts, but he is my Little Buddy.

Dexter is a reasonably intelligent dog and I have taught him several things. He can sit, lie down, and fetch. Being a reasonably intelligent human, Dexter has taught me several things, too. I would like to share with you the three lessons my Little Buddy, Dexter, has taught me;

1. Every day a couple of times a day, I toss a tennis ball for Dexter. I can tell by the way he holds his tail up and the spring in his step that this is a fun, fun thing. I know by the way he prances around with his ball he is having a great time and he is happy to share all of this dog-enjoyment with me, his person. Playtime is important.



2. If I were to ask Dexter, "What time is it?" I am sure his response would be, "NOW!" For Dexter, there is no fretting about yesterday, there is no worrying about tomorrow - it is always "NOW!" Dexter has taught me the importance of living in the moment.



3. Finally, every morning when Dexter wakes up, he looks at me with that silly dog grin while wagging his tail and I know if he could talk he would say, "Today is going to be the BEST DAY EVER!" Every day is a day of new beginnings and opportunities in Dexter's world. So now when I wake up, I decide that for me too, today is going to be the BEST DAY EVER!

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks?