![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gurdonark"In the nighttimes,
days don't seem too long,
happiness is fading into dawn.
No one sees it, such simplicity,
no one sees it but me.
In the afternoons I sometimes see,
images of suns that wait for me.
No one sees it, such simplicity,
no one sees it but me".
--- old Knowbody Else song
Today I moved from one emergency to another, preparing for several major imminent events at once. This inevitably leads me to reflect on finding balance in my life. I nearly cried today, when I got home and one of my dogs was gone.
Today was a very busy day, perhaps the least busy in what will prove to be a very busy week. I think it's unseemly to complain about such things, because (a) I am much less busy than I used to be in my work, because I made choices that made my life more livable; and (b) I chose this path, and should not mind the winds in the trail.
Tonight, though, I think of the juggling problems that go hand in hand with the life I lead. When I arrived home, our back gate was slightly ajar. I knew instantly what this might mean, and I ran into the house to hunt our two lhasas. The older one, Scout, was ready to hand, but seemed quite nervous. The younger one (only 8 years old), Teddy, was gone.
Teddy's a wonderful dog, but she's a rambler. She usually will come home when she gets bored, but this time she was nowhere to be found. I take responsibility for her escape, because we have a lock for our back fence, which I did not lock last night when mowing. I had special reason to ensure I did it right, because this morning, I looked at the spectacularly incomplete job of mowing I did last night, as dark fell. I must not have pulled the gate closed all the way. I certainly did not lock it again.
Tonight, when I came home, my dog had escaped. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I ran and called her name.
She could have been gone for hours. My wife was at a meeting, and probably had not stopped by our house.
I shouted her name, and I fought off the beginnings of tears. I could imagine her taken, or on the roadway, dead.
Then I listened to our phone answering machine. A neighbor had found Teddy out in the alley. They kept her until I could come get her. She was safe. I walked her home with her leash. Thank goodness!
Just a moment of potential loss, the potential loss of a pet--so riveting. A family illness, a danger averted--so riveting.
I once failed to brake in the rain, on my way to a critical meeting. How un-critical the meeting became, when the collision happened. Nobody was hurt. But how much it changed perspective.
Tomorrow I must arise at dawn, catch a plane, and work hard and well. But I won't forget that I leave a home behind, and that those in it matter more to me than life itself.
days don't seem too long,
happiness is fading into dawn.
No one sees it, such simplicity,
no one sees it but me.
In the afternoons I sometimes see,
images of suns that wait for me.
No one sees it, such simplicity,
no one sees it but me".
--- old Knowbody Else song
Today I moved from one emergency to another, preparing for several major imminent events at once. This inevitably leads me to reflect on finding balance in my life. I nearly cried today, when I got home and one of my dogs was gone.
Today was a very busy day, perhaps the least busy in what will prove to be a very busy week. I think it's unseemly to complain about such things, because (a) I am much less busy than I used to be in my work, because I made choices that made my life more livable; and (b) I chose this path, and should not mind the winds in the trail.
Tonight, though, I think of the juggling problems that go hand in hand with the life I lead. When I arrived home, our back gate was slightly ajar. I knew instantly what this might mean, and I ran into the house to hunt our two lhasas. The older one, Scout, was ready to hand, but seemed quite nervous. The younger one (only 8 years old), Teddy, was gone.
Teddy's a wonderful dog, but she's a rambler. She usually will come home when she gets bored, but this time she was nowhere to be found. I take responsibility for her escape, because we have a lock for our back fence, which I did not lock last night when mowing. I had special reason to ensure I did it right, because this morning, I looked at the spectacularly incomplete job of mowing I did last night, as dark fell. I must not have pulled the gate closed all the way. I certainly did not lock it again.
Tonight, when I came home, my dog had escaped. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I ran and called her name.
She could have been gone for hours. My wife was at a meeting, and probably had not stopped by our house.
I shouted her name, and I fought off the beginnings of tears. I could imagine her taken, or on the roadway, dead.
Then I listened to our phone answering machine. A neighbor had found Teddy out in the alley. They kept her until I could come get her. She was safe. I walked her home with her leash. Thank goodness!
Just a moment of potential loss, the potential loss of a pet--so riveting. A family illness, a danger averted--so riveting.
I once failed to brake in the rain, on my way to a critical meeting. How un-critical the meeting became, when the collision happened. Nobody was hurt. But how much it changed perspective.
Tomorrow I must arise at dawn, catch a plane, and work hard and well. But I won't forget that I leave a home behind, and that those in it matter more to me than life itself.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 07:29 pm (UTC)crying is allowed!
the trouble with pets is that we do come to a day when they go; I hate that day - but they're still worth having, aren't they?
I'm so glad your dog is okay
love and blessed be
xxx
no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:16 am (UTC)It's so hard to see a pet age faster than oneself.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 07:32 pm (UTC)I have two miniature dachsunds.
I got Hershey as a new puppy
while recuperating from open heart
surgery almost 8 years ago. Daisy
is her daughter, and she is 4.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 07:46 pm (UTC)I learned from the obedience school that in order to get her to come to me I have to curb my initial reaction of anger and fear, NOT yell at her, but maintain this happy happy voice that sounds like FUN. If she thinks at all that she's going to be punished, she'll just keep running and running.
So there I am calling for her to come like I was throwing a birthday party for her. I went all over the neighborhood after her but when I finally got close and grabbed her collar (still using *happy talk*) I said let's go home like it was REAL exciting, and she went straight to the back door.
Psssew!!! I'd have totally freaked if I came home and she was gone.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 11:04 pm (UTC)Furr-Eddie dragged herself in. the ultimate outcome was good,
but the six weeks of nursing her was incredibly hard. since
our son is out on his own, we tend to invest more in our pets,
but we always felt much the same way, come to think of it. give
Teddy an extra scratch behind the ears.~paul
no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-18 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 06:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 07:34 am (UTC)But are you dealing with other emergencies, too? I hope everyone is alright.
As always, best to you and yours.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-21 12:26 am (UTC)Thanks for your kind wishes, which I much appreciate.
no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 09:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-08-19 03:13 pm (UTC)Enjoy what you can of the week.