faith's boyfriend

Living in the country for an animal lover means that whoever turns up at your doorstep needing food or help gets it if they're nice. Must have doggie manners. Our chocolate lab, Faith, is eight years old this year and (to our knowledge) has never been bred. She has bled all over the house and furniture on a regular cycle, but we're careful to keep her in. She likes it better that way, on the couch snoozing while the younger boys romp and run. A couple of days ago a quite handsome red pitbullish male showed up and she has steady been courtin' him from first glance. Not that Sam and Oscar will let that happen...oh no. They've run offense the whole way protecting her like a good sibling will do. She is so dang cute out there flashing her tail around. Poor dude just looks at her like he could stay forever. He didn't eat what we offered, and has no collar. If I were a bettin' gal I'd say he belongs to the folks down the road from where Oscar roamed into our lives.

So...back to the real world. Things are about as tight as I've ever seen them financially around here, and per our usual chinese fire drill lifestyle, bad things have happened at precisely the worst minute possible. Like the lost car key, for example. BG lost her one and only last weekend and it has yet to surface. Locksmith is no help, dealer in another town. We've shared the trusty Camry for the past week, but something's gotta give. She is still jobless, and not for lack of interviews. Every time she does one and doesn't get the job, I see her spirits sink a bit lower. When I first got out of college there were jobs every freakin' where, particularly in healthcare. Now...well, ya'll know the numbers. Fifty percent of this country works while the other half can't or won't work and receive government benefits of some sort. I try very hard to keep my spirits up so that we can find a solution to this whole thing together.

I'm out of the loop on politics and gulf wars so don't ask me any questions about the current stats or state of our collective unions. That is, not unless you have a real love of Comedy Central like we do around here. Hey...whatever makes you laugh, ya know? I've managed to find help for my next canoe shuttle gig so I'll get to see Snoop the wonder dog again. He's a beagle with his own life jacket with his name on it. Uh huh. Had me from hello.

I've been thinking lately that while life's been good to me and all, that maybe I'm not listening to the voices or seeing the doors that are there as I stubbornly try to do things my own way. That is what I adore about the arts, the fact that talent is a gift and to deprive people of the spirit within that gift is a waste. Some of the most moving moments in my life have been "aha" moments when I finally get the beauty in something that I didn't see before. My short term goal is to do the best I can to honor those to whom I owe money, and to spend more time exploring.

Peace out ^j^