Spoiler alert: this is not a typical post. It deals with some challenging and sad or disturbing topics. I don’t blame you if you don’t want to read on. Writing blogs is a way for me to process challenging experiences and emotions. And so, I wrote this one. I never thought about Pettigrew’s bucket list, … Continue reading The Perils of a Bucket List
In My Own Voice #42: Tips from an Elder Statesman
This is a dog-to-dog blog. It’s not something I’d like the Humans to read. So please, don’t share it. Just a few life lessons from yours truly, who’s been around the block and then some. As a “rescue” who did the free-range thing in West Virginia before settling down with my forever family, I’ve picked … Continue reading In My Own Voice #42: Tips from an Elder Statesman
Pettigrew’s Reducing Regime
For those of you who have been following this blog, you know that our elderly dog has lately been off his food. This is complicated by the fact that he has an Incredibly delicate constitution so tempting him with substitutions from his typical diet is fraught. We’ve been warming his food to heighten its aromas. … Continue reading Pettigrew’s Reducing Regime
In My Own Voice #41: I Am Not a Tool For Your Procrastination
The Woman sometimes has trouble settling down at her desk. I sense her agitation. Up and down the steps she pounds carrying baskets full of clothes. Down she stomps with the clothes smelling of my family. A short time later she repeats her march carrying back up the stairs clothes wiped of all good scents. … Continue reading In My Own Voice #41: I Am Not a Tool For Your Procrastination
Tumbling Down the COVID Hole
Like Alice in Wonderland who found herself in a topsy-turvy world when she followed the rabbit down a hole, my family was turned upside down a few weeks ago when first one, and then another came down with COVID. In educational circles there’s a concept called windows and mirrors. Loosely defined it refers to how … Continue reading Tumbling Down the COVID Hole
In My Own Voice # 40: Holiday Love
This time of year, the house fills with delicious smells and I wait, expectantly, patiently, hopefully on the couch until the scrape of the knife against the sharpener. Then and only then is it time to move to the kitchen. Pettigrew gets a tidbit. Sometimes, it's clearly not accidental at all! My position? Seated. Front … Continue reading In My Own Voice # 40: Holiday Love
Preconceived Ideas
For reasons I don’t fully understand, earlier this fall I became obsessed with The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, by Stephen Covey. I read it numerous times, taking different lessons from it. What do you see? An old woman? A young woman? Both? In one segment, Covey writes about how sharing a simplified drawing … Continue reading Preconceived Ideas
Taking a Tumble Off My Pedestal
A few weeks ago I left work early, sick and exhausted. At home, I crawled straight into bed. At some point in the afternoon, Pettigrew came up to join me, perhaps after I didn’t show up to take him for his afternoon walk and he had to accept my son as a substitute walker. His … Continue reading Taking a Tumble Off My Pedestal
Left Out in the Cold
Pettigrew and my husband have their own love language. Peanut butter is their conversational lubricant of choice. The other day while I was enjoying a mug of green tea for my afternoon pick-me-up, my husband wandered into the kitchen for a snack. On his heels came Pettigrew. I invited Pettigrew over for some rubs, but his … Continue reading Left Out in the Cold
It’s Too Quiet to Sleep
Contrary to popular belief, quiet is not always conducive to sleep. When my parents were first married, my mother got in the habit of falling asleep to the sound of the tv turned low whenever my dad was working late. It kept her company in the empty apartment. Pettigrew curled up on his bed that … Continue reading It’s Too Quiet to Sleep
Ruth Polk 