It's always dangerous to have a conversation about dogs when there is a dog in hearing distance of human's conversation. My daughter and I have spent hours on the phone, and when the topic came up of how much I miss my dogs, she made the mistake of saying the word "chewie." Immediately my little granddog perked up on the other end of the phone. Apparently little Sheba needed a treat. I hope she got it. There are some aspects of dog ownership I don't miss, like picking up dog poo from the yard, or listening to the barking alarm when someone in the neighborhood uses a string trimmer. But I really miss spoiling my dogs with apple pieces and rawhide chewies. I found out that the apples on the trees at the lake park are free for the taking, and I wished out loud that I had Elsa with me to take on walks there. I'm trying hard to get used to life without dogs, but I do miss those guys an awful lot.
I'm pretty sure that this phone call has gone on for almost five hours now. It isn't just my puppies that I'm missing. It was nice, all those years that my kids lived at home, and we had all the time in the world to have long talks like this. I'm sure I'm remembering it being a little more peaceful than it actually was. There were years long stretches when we did nothing but argue, like when they were in seventh and eighth grades, and could not leave the house each morning for school until they had at least three separate arguments on three completely different topics (either with each other or me). But there were also those times when we all had fun like life was a giant slumber party. Those are the days I wish had not vanished in the mists of time. I know everyone has to let their kids grow up and leave the nest, but that doesn't mean we have to stop enjoying the bonding moments.
This conversation started when the football game ended this afternoon. Between this week and the last, my Buffaloes have scored one hundred points, and their opponents only fourteen. We don't quite know how to process that information. We remained faithful fans through so many bad years, up through the last season. Obviously someone has stepped up their coaching game, and these players listened and learned. I'm still afraid that this skill level won't last the entire season. There's a lot of high power teams left on the schedule. But wouldn't it be nice to see the team win when my daughter and I go back for the homecoming game, sitting with the band alumni? It would make the reunion that much sweeter.
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