We got our first family dog yesterday. That’s her in the photo. Her name is Charlie, and we’re certain she’s the best dog ever. She’s beautiful, she’s gentle, she’s happy, she’s calm inside the house and playful in the yard, and she doesn’t bark. Yes, you read that right. A rescued animal we adopted from the shelter, and she doesn’t bark. Best dog ever.

Getting a dog was a big step for our family, especially for me. Our son is 14 and our daughter is 10, and they’ve been asking for a dog for years. “Come on, Mom, your clients won’t care if they hear a dog barking. Come on, Mom, we promise we’ll take care of her. Come on, Mom, we really want a dog!” So this summer I finally started warming up to the idea, and we promised them that if they would show good responsibility for 8 weeks in a row, we would start looking. For a female dog, about 2 years old, with a calm disposition, not too big, and not a barker. So last week was our week to start looking, and suddenly I found myself not just eager to find the perfect dog, but missing her before we found her, like she’d been on a vacation or something and we were ready for her to come home.

Friday afternoon about 5:00 we visited the local animal shelter. Our son had been hoping to talk us into a puppy, since they are so cute, but then he saw Charlie. He fell in love first, and the rest of us quickly followed.

We’ve had Charlie 24 hours, and already she’s a beloved member of the family, and a very wise teacher. Here are the lessons she has taught me so far:

Lesson #1: Trust your heart, not your nose. When we got our time alone with Charlie in the visitation room, she was dirty and smelled awful. She’d only been rescued a week ago, and with 60 dogs to provide for and a small staff, the shelter could only take care of the absolute necessities. And that left no time for a bath. But she looked at us with loving eyes, and offered her belly to rub, and our hearts told us she was the one. The longer we spent with her, the less we noticed the dirt and the smell, and the wider our hearts opened.

Lesson #2: Take a nap when you’re tired. If you do, you wake up feeling happy and refreshed and energetic. Need I say more?

Lesson #3: Only bark when your most important priority is at stake. We found out today that Charlie can bark. Not when the doorbell rang or another dog walked by. Not because someone tried to pull her to the left when she wanted to go to the right. Not because she was hungry or needed to go outside – she cries softly when she needs those things. It was her new rawhide bone. Joe tried to take it from her, and she let out a loud “WOOF!” that startled and amused us all. We can make a lot of requests of her, like asking her to “Sit!” and “Shake!” about a hundred times in one day, and she’s as calm and happy as ever. But try to take her bone, and she barks. She’s got her priorities straight. The girl knows what she wants, and she doesn’t worry about anything else.

These lessons are great reminders for me. Maybe for you, too.

Best wishes,

Kathy

This week we took the kids to the Texas coast for a few days to play at the beach with their cousins. It was perfect beach weather – 92 and sunny, with lots of wind to make good-sized waves in the shallow water. No panicked parents worrying the kids would drift too far out to sea, because they had plenty to do near the shore.

The cousins are triplets – two boys and a girl, age 10, the same age as our daughter and four years younger than our son. They idolize their teenaged cousin, and loved his piggy back rides and wave jumping tricks. I don’t think any of the kids appreciate yet the miraculous vastness of the ocean. But they do appreciate its capacity to thrill, and they took full advantage of it.

The two girls spent hours making sand castles. Each day the boys challenged them to a best sand castle contest, but quickly lost interest and opted to wrestle in the waves instead. The girls built complicated sand walls and moats and turrets and swimming pools and play areas, and invited a few Polly Pocket dolls to try out the fun. The best part for the boys was castle demolition at the end of the day.

Just a few hours and just a few days, but great summer memories, and stories they’ll be telling for a long time.