G is for Great Falls

Exercise, Discipline, Affection

So goes the mantra of Cesar Millan, also known as the "Dog Whisperer".

I thought of Cesar this morning as we took Lucy for her first hike. We chose a favorite place, Great Falls National Park, for the occasion, knowing she would get plenty of exercise and assuming that walking on the leash would take discipline. Oh, but it was affection that won the day! As we made our way along the Matildaville Trail, through the secret meadow, and back along the River Trail every hiker we passed wanted to stop and pet and the puppy. And that was fine-- as long as she sat first!

Life Lesson: A tired puppy is a good puppy!

F is for 'fer'

Even as we drove up I-95 to Pennsylvania on the way to meet our puppy, we were not sure of what her name would be.

Cricket?

Jelly Bean?

Buttercup?

Millie?

Ingrid?

Ginger?

Pepper?

The list went on, but as rain pounded on the windshield, nothing seemed exactly right. "I think we'll know when we meet her," I finally said, and we traveled on in silence over the Susquehanna, through Port Deposit, and past the Conowingo Dam. The sky cleared and a bald eagle flew over us. Finally we pulled into the driveway of neat brick home. Goats were staked on a green hill in the back, and across the street freshly plowed fields rolled into the distance. Ahead of us 3 Amish boys chased four red puppies across the grass. One of them was ours.

Once we were back in the car, I looked at the tiny dog, and she looked right back at me. "I think her name is 'Lucy'," I said, and Lucy it was.

Lucy after another famous red-headed Lucy; Lucy because the name means light, and soon we found it was Lucy, because you can add 'fer' to it, and capture her naughty side perfectly.

Life Lesson: Would a rose by any other name really smell as sweet?

E is for Ears

When we picked the puppy up from the family who bred her we loved her caramel coat, but we wondered what shade she would be when she was grown. "Look at the ears," Amos Fisher said. "They say that will be her final color."

And I have looked at her ears every single day. It's not just their color, I also love the way they flop around her neck, and how she sighs when I rub them. And the way they feel--

Is it velvety? Soft as silk? Like ripe peaches, or the minutes before sunrise? Are they a perfect custard, down pillows, dandelion and milkweed seeds floating through the warm blue sky, fine sand at the bottom of the ocean in August? Or carrot purée? Maybe they are a bubble bath, a baby's breath, hot cocoa, warm gingerbread, or melted butter.

What simile or metaphor describes my puppy's ears best?

Life Lesson: There's nothing like the real thing.

D is for Dog Days

I recently heard someone refer to an event last year as part of the "Obama Era." How far away that makes his presidency sound; how traumatic it has been to pass from that era to this fraught time.

I suppose, by extension, that last year also saw the end of the "Isabel Era" for us... writing that now makes her loss seem so final, and still so sad after all these months of doglessness.

And yet? Losing Isabel has ushered us into the "Age of Lucy," and who knows what wonders await us in the years ahead?

Life Lesson: When one door closes, another opens.

C is for Crazy Time

There is an hour of every day, sometime between dinner and bedtime, usually right around dusk, when the youngest of creatures

lose

their

minds.

Maybe it's to get rid of any extra energy that might tempt them to leave the safety of their dens, nests, or cradles in the dark and dangerous night, or perhaps it's just a spontaneous celebration of all that is good in life-- food, family, and fun. But whatever the cause, when you can see the whites of your young 'un's eyes, and she runs around like an invisible monster is chasing her-- ears flying, tongue hanging to the side, tail waving like a banner, then you know it must be...

Crazy Time!

Life Lesson: If you've never lost your mind, then you've never followed your heart.

B is for But I'm Still Sleeping

When you get a new puppy, it must be with the understanding that all the time, worry, care, and yes, of course, LOVE, you put in will be an investment. Later on, when your dog is your healthy, well-adjusted, fun-loving best friend, you will forget all those poopy, pee-filled, sleepless nights. But for now, you have to yawn and bear it, dragging your sleepy self through days packed with all the regular stuff plus all the new puppy stuff. How do you do it? Well... you just look at the adorable little dog and sigh.

Life Lesson: Being cute is a survival skill!

A is for Adjusting Nicely

We took Lucy for her first big walk today. Barely 10 pounds and about 10 inches high, she probably walked at least a mile. Oh, we carried her part of the way, but she was definitely in for the pack walk-- following me or Heidi with a cheerful and brisk little puppy trot for most of the time. Of course there was plenty of sniffing and a few joyful encounters with some big dogs, all in good fun of course.

 AND when we turned for home?

She seemed to know the way.

Life Lesson: Home is where you find it.

The first of May brings the sixth annual "Alphabiography" Challenge for my students. They are assigned to write short (100-250 word) "chapters" of their lives and title them by letters. The requirement is to write twice a week, but the challenge is to write either 26 times this month or all 31 days.

Each piece closes with a life lesson. This part is a good way to encourage these young writers to consider their purpose or message. Theme is an abstract concept that many sixth grade kids are just beginning to grasp, and these short, autobiographical vignettes give them a manageable and concrete step up to that higher order thinking.

Such consistent writing will help build their fluency and confidence, but I'm hoping it will be fun, too.

This year, I plan to participate with a month of vignettes about, what else? My new puppy! (Thanks for the idea, Mary!) Oh? And if you notice a bit of a shift in tone and/or style, it's because I'm sharing the posts with my students, too.