Shortly I’ll be shutting down the computer to enjoy a sunset-to-sunset sabbath. (You don’t have the be Jewish …)
Light candles. Drink wine. Enjoy peace. Give thanks. Remember things that matter.
Before I close the computer for the night — First thanks go to YOU. Once again, I don’t yet know what names to put to the thanks. I wish I did. Amazon hasn’t told me so far. But I see so much bounty pouring in from my wish list — apricots! And more apricots! And wonderful movies. And the coolest flashlight I’ve run into this season. And a dog book I’ve been wanting for two years. And dog toys. Ava’s tennie-ball jones is going to be satisfied.
And … oh man, I can’t tell you how Robbie is going to love his Combat Bone tug toy. Robbie, Mr. Jaws-of-Steel, rarely gets any toys because he can destroy most of them in seconds. But he loves tug-o-war beyond all things. So whoever chose that item — you can know that you’ve made one elderly bully dog very happy. If he could meet you in person, he’d give you his best and most enthusiastic licks. (Erm … maybe just as well that he can’t say thanks in person.)
Have a wonderful weekend everybody, and thanks for being here with your wit, your smarts, and your great hearts.
Merry Christmas to you and the hounds
And Merry Christmas to you, MS Jordan. Sending fond thoughts in your direction (and guessing you might be the man Robbie would most like to slurp on right now?).
Fond thoughts are always nice to get and if Robbie like chewing on round yellow balls, then yep. Heck If I had my brains working I would have sent you some of my own dried Honeycrisp apples or Comice pears unfortunately they have all gone to other good homes. Maybe next year. Enjoy with all my hopes for a good year for you all.
Claire, I’m not sure you fully appreciate how much your writing means to so many of us. It’s not just for information, but also for humor and your invitation to think for ourselves. To have an oportunity to do some tiny little thing to say thankyou is actually a gift you’ve given us.
Have a relaxing sabbath and a very Merry Christmas!
my kids prefer the “kong” toys…or rather I do…or maybe all of us do…
MS Jordan — Oh, Robbie will be very happy to get his jaws around those tennis balls! But first, Ava (my fetch-o-maniac) will get to play with them until they begin falling apart. (And real tennis balls like those, as opposed to imitation tennis balls made for dogs, last a long time.) Once they start to fray and split, Robbie gets the great happiness of completing their destruction. Months for Ava, minutes for Mr. Jaws. Dried apples and pears … mmmm. Those sound delicious. But tennis balls last longer. 🙂
Karen — Thank you. You know, you’re right. I really don’t know. I can’t even imagine. Friday night, when I shut the computer down shortly after I discovered the latest bounty, I felt so full, so happy, I could barely be inside my own skin. It wasn’t the “stuff” or the money — though of course that was great, too, and very welcome. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of you guys caring about me.
The happiness became almost scary. I’m not accustomed to that. After a couple of hours of not knowing what to do with all those good feelings — and not knowing how to earn the regard so many people have given me, I just quietly fell apart. Ever since then I’ve been wondering what I can do that’s really enough — how I can really truly give back the gifts you guys give me. I wish I could take just one tiny bit of the greatest moment of freedom, wrap it up in words, and give it to you all so you’d have it with you forever.
bumperwack,
I can’t get my dogs to want to play with Kongs. They’ll happily lick peanut butter and suck dog cookies out of them until they get fat and I have to put the Kongs away for a month or two. But play with them? Nope.
I wish they would, because Kongs are one of the few things Robbie has a hard time destroying. He’s mangled the top of his pretty thoroughly from chewing on it. But it’s still intact after several years.
Off topic!
Claire, have you seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qdb6wC0Iz4
Judy, I hadn’t seen it until you linked it. OMG. How funny and how hardcore at the same time … “They oughta be arrested, TSA …” And when else will anybody ever hear the word “demeanor” rhymed with “balls and wiener”? LOL.
Claire, sometimes you have to accept that people read you, that they appreciate you, and that there are many caring people still left in the world….This is their way of giving back to you, to let you know they have paid attention all this time…..Sometimes this is the only way they can express that, since it’s not that easy to write (for the rest of us it doesn’t come so naturally)….
Aside from the vast amount of info you present, it requires people to think a little more than maybe they wouldn’t other wise….face some demons they may have avoided doing themselves…..I’m still a newbie, but I noticed immediately that you have a following that really likes you as a person as much (if not more than) a teacher/eye opener….This isn’t just a confirmation of what a great writer you are, it’s revealing of how much of a human being you are respected for…..
Relax, enjoy it….you’ve earned it….it was a chance for some to give back to you after all these years of receiving…..