Everybody Needs a Miracle

Mellie is no longer my foster dog. One of the kennel dogs was recently adopted which left an opening for Mellie. In order for Mellie to be adopted, I knew that she had to be in a central location where she could be viewed. Despite knowing this, her departure was bittersweet. I started crying the minute I finished the call. A thousand questions began to swirl through my head...How would she be treated? Would she be exposed to the elements - hot sun, rain, etc.? How big or small were the kennels? Would they be clean and sanitary?

For six months, Mellie has slept on a down comforter on our carport. She has been watered, fed and cleaned like a child. She has been treated for every preventable canine condition, including fleas, heartworms and skin allergies. As a foster parent, I felt I had been mindful of her every need...except one.

That one need became more and more evident. Mellie was almost perfect. She had only one flaw - she dug craters (not mere holes) in my yard and flower bed. I used red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, repellent spray and every other internet remedy available, but nothing deterred her. On the days when everyone was home and we played with her, she did not dig; however, on those days when she was left alone for even a few hours, we would return to massive excavations! She even dug a tunnel underneath our concrete driveway where she could fit her entire body!

When I was inside, she wanted to be inside. When I was outside, she wanted to play. And when I ignored her efforts to be with me, she dug. She clawed and scratched and burrowed and tunneled until her nose looked like a dirt-covered garden spade.

Still, we had formed a familial bond. I loved her and she loved me. The trip to the kennel was quiet - for both of us. When we arrived, I found out that Mellie's kennel mate would be another female dog named Miracle. Both dogs were fixed, vaccinated and ready for adoption. All the kennels were clean and organized, and all the dogs seemed well-adjusted and happy. Each kennel was home to two dogs, and each dog had an individual dog house in which to sleep.

Of course, I remained concerned about her adjustment to such strange surroundings. The following morning, I received this text from the kennel manager: Just wanted you to know that Mellie and Miracle are the best of "Pen Pals" now! The played for hours last night and are back at it this morning. NO FIGHTS! All is Well! :)))

The next text I received read: Mellie likes kibble and she loves Miracle! I asked if kibble was food and told her how glad I was that Mellie had a sweet friend. She responded that kibble was dry dog food (which Mellie had never eaten), and that Mellie "gobbles it up!" Then she ended her text with this comment: BTW Mellie likes being a dog! LOL!

I replied: I am so glad that Mel is happy. She hated being a human. Then she sent me an A-ha text lesson: Yeah, I think those craters were a clue. No craters here!

WOW! Everybody needs a Miracle. We just dig and scratch and claw our way through life, and all we are looking for is our very own Miracle. Mellie needed a companion. Mellie wanted someone like herself - someone who wanted to do the things that she wanted to do. She didn't want a down comforter or canned food or a comfortable carport. She didn't want a clean house, beautiful flower beds or a manicured lawn. She just wanted to be with somebody who wanted to be with her. All it took to meet Mellie's most fundamental need was just one Miracle.

So now, as I fill all those deep holes left in my yard, I am sad to think about the frustration and isolation they represented. Everybody needs a Miracle! Like Mellie, I found mine. All I can hope is that my adult children find their Miracle, so when I am concerned about how they are doing, they can reply...

No craters here!

Dianne ; )

Find Good in Everything

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. ~~ William Shakespeare

I love this quote! I think I want it inscribed on my grave marker! What a wonderful way to live -- seeing stories and books, hearing sermons and tongues and finding good in everything. I almost believe some people are sprinkled with favor, like a magic dust, that allows them to see the story and hear the sermon.

One afternoon, my son and I were going out to eat, and I saw something spectacular on the roadside. I can't remember what because I didn't have my camera, but I do remember a statement he made. "You don't miss anything, do you? How do you notice all that stuff?"

Matt is trying to refine his palate by trying different foods. The oral palate is often mistaken as an organ of taste; however, there are many more sensory receptors for taste on the tongue. Our aesthetic palate is the taste we perceive - an intellectual taste or mental relish. In order to have a discerning taste for fine food or wine, we must have a cultivated palate of perception. Mahatma Ghandi said that the control of the palate is a valuable aid for the control of the mind. The same is true with what we see around us (or smell or touch). Most of us are blessed with basic eyesight, but very few people have cultivated their ability to see the beauty that others miss.

Muscadine Shine!

Cedars Crying

Fine Dining

The Season's New Blue

Hole-in-One High Rise

Last Saturday, my mom and I were waiting at a country road stop sign. I looked out my passenger window and saw a bantam chicken and her five little chicks crossing the road. I had my camera; however, the driver of the car behind us was impatient and blew his horn for us to go. I missed the rare picture, as the tiny chicks were following their mother in one straight line.

Some people see stories, and hear sermons, and find the good in everything. It's their palate for living - refined, cultivated, trained. It's what separates us from mere existence (and road signs) and offers us a taste of the Divine (like Abramovich Filet and Creme Brulee at Olga's, Matt!)
And this, our life...

Dianne ; )

Mother's Day, the Widows and a Birthday Girl

Today is my daughter's birthday. Because Katie is my most devoted follower on this blog...this special two-in-one-day blog is for her.

Mother's Day was Sunday. Katie and Matt had already gone back to school, because Katie's summer classes started on Monday morning. We had celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday with a cake, cookout and corn-on-the-cob (which by the way was mouthwatering). Aimee had planned to come home for Mother's Day, but couldn't get away. So, I spent Sunday with my 78-year-old mother.

As part of a "in case I can't get there" plan, Aimee bought my mother and me a card. She wanted us to open them at the same time and read them together, which we did. Mom's was addressed to the say anything, laugh at anything coolest grandmother ever, and inside the card was a personal handwritten note from Aimee that made us both cry.

When it was my turn to open my card, I was already pretty sentimental. Of course, all my kids know how much I love good quotes. The front of the my card featured a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes: Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

Inside the card was a simple message: There's no place like home, and there's no mom like you. And there was my handwritten message from Aimee: As I grow older, I look back at all the places we have called "home." What I have always loved the most about you (well one of the things) is that you have had the ability to make your family feel at "home" just being around you. I hope I am at your "home" on this Mother's Day; but if I am not, please know how much I miss that "home" feeling that I get from being around you. Also know that no matter where I am, there is no place like home (aka Mom).

I love the quote on the front of this card, because it speaks to the exact way I have always felt about our family. So, if we are apart today, please know that I will be missing my Mom because she is where my heart (and my home) is. I love you, Aimee

On the Monday after Mother's Day, I hosted a luncheon for the widows of our church. The theme for the program was "Time for Sharing", and we shared gourmet cupcakes, fresh-squeezed lemonade and delectable stories. One of the ladies shared a memory of her mother. She said, "We all think of the special events in our lives when mothers seem so important; but, my best memories of my mother were in the kitchen - cooking, laughing and learning about life. I think if you associate your memories of your mother with everyday living and not so much with special days or something important, then you realize how important all those simple days together really were."

By this time, most of the ladies at the table were in tears; however, we all agreed that Mrs. Ann was right. So, today, the tables are turned, and I can't be with Katie for her "special" day. Still, I can remember all those "everyday" days we have spent together in our pajamas with no makeup, pigging-out on whatever we could find in the cabinets or refrigerator, and watching back to back episodes of Oprah and Nate.

And somehow, I feel like she is right here at "home" with me.

Happy Birthday Katie!

Mom ; )

Mellie and her Mudpuddle!

Mellie leads the way! She's ready to play!Aren't you coming? It's Mudpuddle Day!

Mellie jumps right in!

and splashes all around!

Mellie's great big mudpuddle

is the Best in Town!

She ducks under water

then she comes up for air!Mellie's great big mudpuddleis the Best Anywhere!When the day is over
and she lies down to rest,Mellie dreams of her mudpuddle

and the days that are Best!

Dianne ; )