SWEETIE

Posted on January 27, 2014 by BigFootClub

written 6/4/10

Yesterday morning, I was ill.  Went to work for a little while in the afternoon, came back, took the Newfs out, made Newf dinner and went to bed on the sofa.  I have been walking Jade twice each day for the past few days, and she was barely able to contain herself.  I did play Stick with both of them for a little while in the evening, but that wasn’t quite enough.  As I was trying to go to sleep, she brought a wet stuffie to my face and tried to entice me to play.  And, she gave me the paw, more than once.  She was trying to be gentle and arouse some play, but as I said, she could barely contain her enthusiasm.  At some point during the night, she brought me her Kong.  She has never played with it that much, but it kept her attention a little longer.  This morning, I got up, stepped across Jade who was lying next to me and had “coffee” (Dr. Pepper now) and looked back at the sofa.  There had been a toy parade during the night.  Directly underneath where my head was, there was a pile on the floor – the Fish, a Valentine candy toy, a bird (her first Welcome Home toy) and the Kong, along with my socks, unchewed.

Yesterday morning, her “find” was a wet washcloth.  She trotted in carrying it with pride.  She likes the kind of toys that she can dangle, like carrying the Fish by its fin.

This is my little girl, the one who was first “Sweet Tater” then “Mashed Tater” then “Smashed Tater”, who can sometimes be delicately sweet and crawl in your lap, and other times be a Newf on a pogo stick, a tightly coiled pogo stick that springs first in one direction, then another.

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HAZARD TRAPS (TRAVELING WITH NEWFS)

Posted on January 27, 2014 by BigFootClub

5/19/09

Before someone forgets, let me tell you about something that is not included in the owner’s manual.  Did you know that Newfs love water?  <g>

That means it is a wise choice when you need to make a potty stop to NOT pull into a service area that has a lagoon, and when there is an aerator in the middle, the excitement of the water spray makes that even riskier.

After nearly 30 years, you would have thought I wouldn’t need to be reminded of that, especially where Parker is involved.  The good thing was that I didn’t lose my grip or the battle.  But when Greg came running to help, and Parker caught him out of the corner of his eye, it was a moment when I didn’t have that confidence.  I don’t even want to think about how that would have smelled for the next 6 hours.

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EVERYONE’S A CRITIC!

Posted on January 27, 2014 by BigFootClub

4/23/09

One thing we love about our Newfs is their honesty.  Flattery would be less than honest, of course, and I would never ask such of a good Newf.  However, there is something to be said for basic courtesy, isn’t there?

I clearly need to pick up the guitar more often than 20 minutes every six months.  I know that it was that long ago because the books I used last had some spectacular fall leaves in the pages.  Jade wasn’t around then.  She was delivered by the stork (Midwest Airlines) in mid-December.

I usually have some guitar picks sitting around, and I had bought some in bright colors in the past couple of years so I could find them more easily when the mood struck.  Bright colors also appeal to Jade, so she may have assumed those were for a different purpose.

She looked at me curiously and with doubt as I removed the guitar from its stand.  As I began to tune the mysterious monster that she had previously presumed to be another inanimate piece of furniture, she got this look on her face that conveyed the feeling you might have if a corpse raised from its coffin.  (She watches too much television, but we don’t watch scary movies.)  Her jaw dropped and she froze for a split second as if she wanted to run away but she couldn’t make her feet move.  And, since she couldn’t move, frozen as a statue, she was forced to listen long enough to settle down and decide that it wasn’t a monster, not really, but some strange new behavior that she had not yet witnessed in humans.  She laid down with something to chew on, an unapproved purple tail of something that was now tailless.  I continued for a few minutes, and she kept an eye on me the entire time.  Maybe she just didn’t like my choice of music, but something tells me that she thinks I need a LOT more practice, but not while she’s in the same house.  <g>

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WORRIED MOTHERS

Posted on January 27, 2014 by BigFootClub

11/17/11

(In remembrance series)

First, I don’t really think that I have a “worried mother” personality.  In Parker’s case, I think he has a remarkable ability to reach hard-wiring receptors in me, though.  For one thing, he can make sounds that penetrate like electrical voltage.  It’s more than that, though.  When something seems wrong, it triggers my worry response in a very non-voluntary way.

For several days before the last show, I noticed that he wasn’t sleeping much.  I would wake up during the night and he would be already awake.  He does this from excitement, like before a camping trip or before Christmas or sometimes when it is snowing, when he knows that something good is in store.  I had been talking with him about the upcoming dog show, but even knowing that, my worry process had spun into full gear.  He is getting older.  Does this affect his sleep?  His energy is good, maybe he doesn’t need as much sleep.  Don’t women begin having trouble sleeping when they reach this age?  Is it just me, am I the one who’s not sleeping well enough?  I usually sleep soundly when all is well.  Is something wrong with Parker?

When he was younger, my worries had some justification based on his choices, which stemmed from exuberance and a no-holds-barred approach to life.  Now that he’s approaching 10, it’s easy to worry again.  Geesh!  No wonder I’m getting grey hair.

Well, the show is over, and he’s settling back into a routine.  He’s past the blues stage.  Normal is sleeping so soundly that he has no awareness of what’s going on around him, and sleeping to normal morning hours, and taking a solid nap after breakfast.  He’s beginning to sleep more normally again, and funny thing, so am I.

My brother, who is now a grandfather, once looked at my dogs and remarked, “At least kids grow up.”  I said, “Yes, 20 years later!”  I wonder if I have less grey hair than a parent who has gone through teenager-hood.  <g>

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