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
Category: love
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
In My Own Voice #39: I’ve Got My Eyes on You
I’m not one those dogs that feels a compulsion to herd people, constantly circling and nudging legs to keep my group together. But I do like to have a big-picture sense of where everyone is. My family is challenging me right now and I don’t appreciate it. For example, the youngest one disappeared. Poof. One … Continue reading In My Own Voice #39: I’ve Got My Eyes on You
The Girl Next Door
There’s a courtship going on under my nose and I was none the wiser. Pettigrew, like most dogs, likes to poke his nose out the door and sample the weather. Depending on what he learns from that preliminary sniff he either saunters out on to the porch and settles down or, he turns tail and … Continue reading The Girl Next Door
When “Thank You” Isn’t Enough
Type “Xtreme” into a search engine and you pull up all sorts of things for which there are amped up versions: sports, pizza, auto detailing, etc. What I’m pondering is Xtreme thank yous: when the nature of the gift or the service rendered doesn’t seem to be appropriately or adequately acknowledged by a simple thank … Continue reading When “Thank You” Isn’t Enough
A Senior Moment
On a lovely evening sitting around the firepit with dear friends we found ourselves confronting some sobering truths about the future. We met when we were one-child families and have stayed friends as each of our families have grown to include a second child and, inevitably, a dog. In my friends’ cases, make that two … Continue reading A Senior Moment
Sometimes You’ve Gotta Do What You’ve Gotta Do
Pettigrew has been sporting a slow-growing benign melanoma for the past few years. We’ve been watching and hoping it would stop. But it just kept trucking along. Time for a little snuggle on the sofa. You can also see the melanoma if you are interested in that type of thing. It’s quite unsightly. We left … Continue reading Sometimes You’ve Gotta Do What You’ve Gotta Do
Dog vs. Cat: Transcending Heredity
You don’t need to agree with the late 20th century English-American intellectual Christopher Hitchens on everything, but he did have a point about the difference between dogs and cats. To paraphrase, If you provide dogs with food, water, shelter, and affection, they will think you are God; whereas, if you provide cats with food, water, and … Continue reading Dog vs. Cat: Transcending Heredity
In My Own Voice # 28: Stronger Together
Together. That seems to be the operational word these days. And, you know, it’s not all bad. I actually like my family. It gives me a lift to see them first thing in the morning. Sometimes I greet them at the bottom of the stairs. Sometimes they come in before I’ve gotten off the sofa. … Continue reading In My Own Voice # 28: Stronger Together
Ruth Polk 