The Art of Being Grand

The Art of Being Grand

If you ask me, my life is pretty grand. 

I have many reasons to cite. I have a warm house in which to live, a loving family, a church I enjoy, friends, and food. I have some other exciting life changes I’ll share in another post. 

 

But one of the “grand” parts of my life is that of being a grandmother. I have been blessed to have five grandsons, three granddaughters, and two granddogs.

 

Kiwi at the window

Yes, I said granddogs. Since they are both female, I
often refer to Bailey and Kiwi as my “granddoggers.” (At least I think it sounds a bit
like “granddaughters” no matter what anyone else thinks.) 

 

I recently had the opportunity to dog-sit the youngest of my granddogs, Kiwi. Kiwi is part Black Labrador Retriever and part Australian Shepherd. 

 

Kiwi is not a lap dog. (No matter what she thinks.) This puppy is strong, energetic, and big. She also has a big heart and loves her granny deeply. And I love her. 

 

It’s been a long time since I entertained a pet for a sustained period of time. My last dog was Max Lightening the Wonder Dog. Max for short. I always thought he was the best dog ever. 

Kiwi is five times bigger with five times the energy. Walking that puppy on a leash? Lets just say you get a workout. But size and energy aside, Kiwi is as sweet as both Bailey and Max.

 

I wasn’t totally on my own, though. My fiancé was available for part of Kiwi’s stay. (I told you there are some life changes I’ll share later.)

 

Mike loves dogs and Kiwi was no exception. The man showered her with toys. “Tuff toys” that proved to be not so tough in the mouth of a much tougher puppy. 

 

It snowed while Kiwi was here. I feared she wouldn’t want to go out in the cold, white stuff, but she fooled me. She not only wanted to go out…she wanted to stay out. 

She ran and bounced and played in the snow. If I managed to catch her leash, she tugged and pulled and dragged me across the yard. I couldn’t help but laugh. It turns out laughing at her antics only served to fuel the fire in her to cover every inch of my backyard with her large paw prints… with me in tow. 

 

All in all, though, my week with Kiwi as my houseguest was a great reminder of the power of pets…particularly dogs. 

We can learn a lot from dogs. They can teach us to be better humans. Dogs love unconditionally. Dogs live life fully when given a chance to run freely. Dogs play hard during the day and sleep soundly at night. They protect those they love. 

Dogs forgive us when we fuss at them to stop chasing their own tails barking as loud as they can…while we’re talking on the phone. (Notice I’m not mentioning any names here.)

 

My week with Kiwi taught me to live simply, love deeply, play hard, sleep soundly, and forgive freely. 

And that is a life that is truly grand.