Please say "hi" to the newest addition to our household. His name is Ramius (named after the Sean Connery character in "Hunt For Red October"), and he's a mostly (perhaps totally) rottweiller puppy of ten months of age.
During the last two years we said goodbye to three of our most beloved dogs, two from old age, and one from a particularly horrible accident caused by what is termed "bloat" by veterinarians. Ramius now lives alone with us, and we're looking to find him the perfect companion with whom he can form a life long friendship and relationship.
Do you think, then, that my wife and I have said a hearty and thankful goodbye to 2008? Indeed we have, though with all that is gone, I'm now going to collect my thoughts and remember what was found. Oh, did I forget to mention that I am a Realtor, and therefore all of you can sort of guess that I've had to take a hard look at how I make my living now that the real estate market has collapsed all around us. But doggone, it's a New Year.
During these past difficult years, with 2008 being the granddaddy of them all for us, and probably for you as well, we've taken each Thanksgiving and Christmas to reflect on our family and friends, and to remind ourselves that what seems most difficult often turns out to be that which is most worth looking back on. Both Beth and I have parents in their mid 80's, mine living in Youngstown, Ohio, and Beth's living in Staunton (pronounced STANTON), Virginia. During this past year, while we struggled to pick up the pieces after our dogs passed away, and I struggled to keep my real estate business alive and well, I think we both sometimes just wanted to hang it up so to speak. Vince Lombardi once said that "fatigue makes cowards of us all", and in 2008 it was pretty easy to get fatigued, and end up acting out in cowardly fashion, both in what we wanted for our business lives, and what we wanted for ourselves personally. Losing the dogs, our kids if you will, just wore us out.
But doggone, it's a New Year, isn't it? Our trip back to see Beth's parents at Christmas was very special, and though they are stricken with ailments that should cause them to act with despair and fatique, they did the opposite. Instead they baked cookies, assembled a 1000 piece puzzle, cooked old Norwegian and Swedish fare, served us up Glugg (Scandanavian drink with wine and more), and brought out a Christmas quiz that had all of us questioning whether we had ever read the story at all!
Beth spent much of the last six months taking care of Ramius, easing him into our home from our adoption of him at probably only six weeks, to see him grow daily into a responsive and loving puppy, but a puppy still. Her tasks included taking him out in the middle of the night when required, as a hip injury had sidelined me and given me a virtual free pass from having to perform this duty. What a gal, Beth is!!!
But I digress. Doggone, it's a New Year. Look for us to add to our home a friend for Ramius, and for me to add new ideas and energy to my real estate business. Already we have blocked out time to walk more together, play more with Ramius, and grow our family even closer. Already we have made goals for ourselves to conquer, and shared ideas about things that we want to do for ourselves and others in this coming year. Already we have planned to see more of our friends, keep more of our commitments, and share more of our free time together.
Doggone right.
No comments:
Post a Comment