A decade apart, a different house, and a different canine companion to help celebrate. Twenty five seconds of awkward eye contact while I sniveled and warbled my way through the Happy Birthday song to Joel and Peanut (in spirit because it was her birthday, too) for the fifth year in a row. He was paying…
What appears here to be a dirty window is in fact a dirty window. And it’s going to stay dirty. Because it’s covered in pug spittle. Peanut’s pug spittle. For years and years, when Joel was close to being back at the house, we’d coordinate the timing of when I’d hold Peanut up to look…
There wasn’t one day in the six months after Peanut had passed that I was not consumed by grief. I didn’t care about anything and had little motivation to do much at all. When I wasn’t working, I’d grab Peanut’s blanket that still held her scent, lie down with it somewhere, and cry myself to…
Joel started a bedtime routine with Peanut many years ago. He’d place her on her bed, pat her lovingly, tell her she was a good girl (whether or not she had been that day), reminded her of how much we love her, and to have sweet dreams. It made her perky little ears and forehead…
Joel and I were seconds away from meeting the dog that was advertised for sale in the local paper. As soon as Joel opened the door to the apartment complex, a then two-and-a-half-year-old Peanut* came trotting from around the corner of an open door and down the hall. “CLOSETHEDOORSHE’SESCAPING!” I yelled. Joel replied, “She’s fine, she’s not…
Peanut joined our family 10 years ago today.
As many times as I stared into those cool blue peepers on paper, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think they would stare back at me. It was the end of my birthday weekend extravaganza, and Joel and I were finishing up dinner at a restaurant. I spent the past few days doing…
Joel called me some time after lunch to ask what he should do about a little robin that was hopping around a parking lot where he was working. I asked him why he was asking. He explained that he was in a large parking lot hosting an outdoor event and had been watching a little…
The title of the recent article “The More Feathers a Male Sparrow Carries to the Nest, the More Eggs the Female Will Lay” from Science Daily, sums up the very point of the news piece. While not too surprised that a good provider would generally encourage more offspring from a mate, it was still interesting…
Dear Popular Women’s Lifestyle Magazine, I regret to inform you that I am officially breaking up with you. After almost two decades together, I’ve come to realize that it is me, not you, who has changed. You are who you’ve always been, but I am no longer in your target demographic. I need to move…
Unlike some species of mammals that have season-specific courtship cycles, this particular mammal exhibits courtship behaviors all year long. It is just past the first day of winter in the Midwest where creatures dare to brave the cold and biting winds, yet here we’ve captured the male enticing the female out of their warm nest.…
My husband and I recently celebrated our 10-year anniversary. Like we do for many special occasions, we promised each other not to get the other person a gift. As the giver, we don’t like the obligation of having to come up with something simply to unwrap, especially when there is nothing in particular the other…
The Fickle Feather 