It occurs to me, this morning, that good kids and good dogs just happen. You never know, right? And there's a lot of luck involved, regardless of parental or human input. Nature versus Nurture?? A timeless topic, never to be resolved. Whatever. We've been pretty lucky, if that's the component that rules. Cases in point:
On a snowy day last week, pajama-clad Gav and his ukulele arrived for some stormy downtime. It was fun. We jammed. Or shall I say, he jammed while I tried. He ate A LOT. Gramps even went out for calamari and pizza to please the boy. Did I mention that it was fun?! This week, he won an award for Student Of The Month. Just look at that beaming face. Moving along…
The next day, Christian surprised us with Chloe and Lyla, our upstate pretties. Poor Hunter was home sick with Dawn... on a winter-break day, no less. But the girls had a boatload of fun and so did Mambo. He gets TONS of attention from Lyla. She was heard saying, as they prepared to leave, "I'm sorry, Mambo, but we have to leave now." Precious. We crammed a lot of lovin' (and eating) into a few hours, left with that happy glow that kids leave behind. So while we were in family mode…
We shuffled off to Buffalo, the next day. Thankfully, Dale and Maddy were okay with a visit, because we seriously needed to hug them. And there are simply no words to describe how warm and loving they are, even in the wake of such a tragic loss. Cousin Dale is five years younger than I, and speaking of good kids, I'm reminded of an old anecdote. Mom, Aunt Vee and I took a long, girlie road trip to Buffalo when I was eleven. It was a blast, its purpose being to visit Dale's family. When we arrived, this little boy was sitting on the curb in front of his house. Upon realizing it was us, he jumped up and began to exclaim, "My cousins from New York are here!! My cousins from New York are here!!"
Actually, his aunts and cousin had arrived and he lived in New York, too, but it was precious and perfect from a six-year-old. Funny how I've always used that welcoming call to describe Dale to people. We never change, do we?
To add the canine touch to this saga, we traveled with Mambo, who could have easily been left in our pet-friendly suite. But Dale and Mads love him, too, so he was welcomed to hang with us and Riddick, their comforting pooch. What did the two dogs do? Barely looked at each other, just curled up under the glow of Dale's fireplace, lending their soothing touch. We reminisced about Bonnie. She will forever be sorely missed.
Case rested.
