With the kids back to school, the events are starting to stack up, and of course now is the time when things get crazy at work. He’s starting to feel like he’s constantly running at about 78 rpm.
When he told the kids this one day they looked at him like he was speaking another language and turned back to their iPods.
The generation gap is real.
He may have to dust off the old stereo one day and give his children a lesson on how a person should really listen to music. He just doesn’t know when he’ll be able to do it.
His wife is also up to her eyes with work, so there are some days when the entire household feels like it’s involved in a race from the time the sun comes up to long after it sets.
He never thought at 42 his life would be this hectic.
The one time of day he gets to himself is the morning walks with Daisy.
When the kids were 10 and 12, they adopted Daisy from the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter when she was a little more than a year old. She’s a lab mix of some kind, and she fit into the family like she was born here.
Daisy’s now almost 3, and she goes right along with all the crazy in the house without blinking an eye.
She can be a little wild, but he discovered early on that she does best when she gets a nice, long walk in the morning, just before the sun comes up.
Those are the times when he gets to plan his day in his head and get some exercise of his own. It’s just him and Daisy on the neighborhood streets, and they have their routine.
There’s the mailbox where she sniffs for a few minutes to check what he calls her pee-mail. He chuckles to himself just about every morning. The kids and his wife don’t find it quite as funny when he shares it with them.
Then Daisy trots up to the big neighborhood tree where there must be all kinds of smells because they spend a good five minutes there.
All the while, he watches out after people he knows, says “hi” to his friends and neighbors and has time to prepare for his day. He has time to think. He has time to relax a little and just spend time with Daisy.
He starts to realize that he needs the mental reset and really looks forward to his morning walks with his best four-legged friend.
He loves his wife and his kids with all his heart. He screams loudest in the bleachers for his son at his little league games and his daughter plays the violin like nobody he’s ever heard before. If he could get away with screaming at the concerts, he’d do it, but he knows his wife would have his head.
He’s been married to his best human friend for almost 20 years, and even though life can be crazy at times, he knows he wouldn’t have it any other way.
When he gets back from their morning walk on a random Friday, he stops in the garage, looks at Daisy and says out loud, “You know what, Daiz? We’re pretty darn lucky.”
He feels 10 kinds of crazy, but he swears she gives him a nod, and her brown eyes really seem to get it as they head inside for breakfast.
***** Jennifer Vanderau is the Publications and Promotions Consultant for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at [email protected]. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, people may call the shelter at (717) 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org. CVAS also operates a thrift store in Chambersburg. Readers are asked to help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the store.
