Taking Notes: on Patience

I woke up early this morning and started to get ready for work when I saw a flash of bright light coming through the bathroom window. By the time I was dressed and ready to start my morning by taking Sadie out to potty, I realized that flash was lightening and it was pouring rain.... not really my favorite way to start a Monday morning. See, Sadie is a water loving fool, and she takes great pleasure in standing out in the pouring rain. I do not. I attempted to take her potty from the front porch so I could stay in the dry, but, no, she refused to go. So to the back we went where I huddled under the umbrella while she tried to keep her wits about her while the lightening popped around us, literally. She finally did her business and we hurried back inside, but not before she shook all over me and the dining room and wouldn't sit long enough for me to get her dried off good. Then I had to chase her to dry her, wipe up all the wet paw prints and clean up the puddle from the umbrella, and I hadn't even had my coffee yet. It was at that point that I realized she's been sent to me from God to continue my lessons in patience. You see, having two kids just wasn't enough to teach me adequately all I need to know on the topic of patience. So I'm pretty sure that's why we got her. I must be the most hard headed student ever, because my patience lessons are difficult, and it seems like I have to repeat them a lot. It wasn't too long before Sadie needed to go out again, she always pees first and poops second, never in the same trip... patience lesson #2 of the day...

~Tara

Stepping Back in Time

I've written before about my grandparents store, Cuzzins, and how influential it is in my childhood memories. Everything I remember about the place is comforting, so special and so meaningful to me. We had a chance to go back this past weekend because my uncle was having his 50th birthday party there. It's been at least 7 years since I set foot inside the store. Nothing is the way it was... but strangely, the feeling I have there is. There is one Coke cooler still sitting in the back corner. My brother and I kept it stocked with small and large glass bottle cokes, and other drinks too, but the cokes were all that mattered really. My grandpa drank small cokes all the time and ate Reese's peanut butter cups daily, maybe multiple times, which would be why he had no teeth! Not much that was original to the way my grandparents had the store furnished is still there. The wood stove remains of course and the thing was pumping out the heat Saturday night. It was always so warm standing in front of it. And we would stand as long as we could handle it and Grandpa would pull the front of our pants close to our legs on the back and make us jump from the heat! We'd also try to run past him when he sat in his recliner and try to not get swatted by his fly swatter, it was all fun and games. I walked around and went in the back where my grandparents lived. I stood in the kitchen and breathed in that musty old smell but only the best memories came flooding back.  Running out to play in the back yard while Grandma cooked, Grandpa riding us on the four wheeler through the woods, running down the dark hallway between Grandma and Grandpa's rooms, it was always so scary and seemed like it was so long. In reality, it's about 10 feet. Grandpa had a tradition of having bluegrass music on Saturday nights. Players would come from all around and pick, people would sit and listen, talk to each other and just have fun. In the winter when it was too cold to play outside by the gas pumps, the jam session would come inside to the "picking" room. The back door is signed by all the musicians who have come and gone through all the years of this tradition. During the party this weekend, there were three separate groups of musicians playing, two inside and one outside, and I stood there listening and caught myself looking around as if I could find Grandpa in one of those circles picking his banjo and leading the song. Or maybe I could see Grandma in her rocking chair by the heater. And as I type this post today, I have tears streaming down my face, because I could see them...in my memory, as vibrantly as if it were real life. I thank God for memories, for the time I got to spend with my grandparents, for this store, for the people who came in it and who left with a sweet memory just like mine.
I didn't take any pictures while I was there, and I did so on purpose. I want to remember the store the way it was, perfect, unaffected by time and circumstance, so whenever I want I can step back in time.

~Tara

Life with a Dog

The weather has warmed up recently, thank goodness. We are able to get outside and breathe fresh air and actually do things. Sadie and I started back to our regular daily walk routine. She's doing great on the leash and actually walked beside me properly without much correction and without pulling my arm off, which is what she is accustomed to doing. It's extremely annoying to try to pull her back and walk at a productive speed, but learning to heel and be obedient is part of her training, so I'll do it. Sunday we took a hike to King Creek Falls. She absolutely goes nuts when she gets close to water, or when she can hear it actually. She barks and runs through the water and swims down the current and is just in heaven. I'm becoming concerned about how we will manage her when we go to the beach in July. She's likely to lose her mind with excitement at the vast amount of water.

Speaking of Sadie, I noticed a small red spot on the inside of her leg yesterday. So she's made a trip to the vet this morning. And she has some type of fungus and we have gotten an antibiotic and a spray to treat it. The vet also informed Bryan that Sadie will be coming into heat soon!!! I have no words for this news. My brain kinda freaks out just thinking about it. I thought we had a while before this part happened, I'm so uninformed and unprepared. Bryan has a few classes coming up that will take him out of town for two weeks, so mark it down, the "heat" will most certainly start then and I'm going to have to tackle that problem on my own.

Oh my, I never knew how much I'd love this little brown dog, she is my third baby. I hope she feels better quickly and I hope I can manage all these upcoming issues. For sure, there's never a dull day when there's life with a dog....

~Tara

Surprise Pics

It's been three months since my trip to Colorado. While I was gone, the kids decided to have an impromptu photo shoot, apparently when their Dad wasn't home. Last week, I was transferring some other photos to my laptop and discovered these sweet babies...

I don't think I could've done any better myself.

~Tara