Whispering Winds Blog

I was sitting at my desk and Floey was lying on the floor in her usual spot, between me and the patio door. “Well, Floey. It’s been a whole week now. What should we tell our blog readers about your play date with your litter mates last Tuesday evening?”

“Wow! Mom, I had the time of my life! You know that. We were the first ones at the dog park, and oh what fun it was to run around inside the fenced area all by myself! I wished you had remembered to bring a tennis ball for me to chase, but at least we found some rings, and they worked fine, even if they didn’t bounce.”

“But we didn’t have to wait alone more than about five minutes before your sister Frannie came with her two moms – Bonnie and Heidi,” I responded.

“Oh, yeah. I couldn’t believe it when I saw Frannie again. She looks a lot like me, except she’s somewhat smaller, isn’t she, Mom, and she has short hair. As soon as we sniffed each other we started to race, just like we did on the Indian Reservation when we were little pups. She’s the only dog I know who’s almost as fast as me.”

I laughed at that. “I took a picture that shows Frannie running ahead of you, Floey. Don’t you think that may mean she is actually faster than you?”

“Not really, Mom. We just took turns being in the lead. Oh, it was so much fun to run so fast!”

“The two of you chased each other constantly for about ten minutes until your brother Otis arrived with his parents – Nicole and Jordan.”

“Otis has really grown! He’s big. I think he’s almost as big as my cousin Lucy. But he can really run, too. Once Frannie and I went through the sniffing routine with Otis, the three of us chased each other for about an hour. The only times we stopped were when another dog and their human came to the gate to join us. We politely greeted them and invited them to play with us, but they stayed pretty close to their people instead. I think they were amazed at our speed. We really are a fast family!”

“You’re also a very loving family. I watched you, your brother, and your sister tackle each other sometimes, too, and play fight with each other. All three of you are just as gentle as you are fast.”

“Oh, it was so much fun to be together again. Can we do it again, Mom?”

“I think we’ll be able to work it out for all of us to get together every few months. While you dogs were playing, we people talked, and agreed that everyone was having so much fun we’ll have to continue to do this. We also talked about how similar you three are in so many of your mannerisms.”

“Like what, Mom?”

“You all cross your front legs when you sit. You all have the same eyes – you gaze at us with that soft, intent look. And you all hate loud noises like lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners, but you don’t mind thunder. And, you also only eat when you’re hungry. You never over eat.”

“But most of all, Mom, we all run like the wind. We are fast! And running fast is so invigorating!”

“I think you finally had a chance to run enough to get tired out. By the end of the evening, all three of you were lying around, just being content to be together.”

“Yeah. And then Mim proved again that she’s the primary cook of the family. She knew we needed a little nourishment after all our running. She had remembered to bring along some treats for all of us. Frannie and Otis were pretty impressed at what nice moms I have.”

“Frannie and Otis have nice parents, too, Floey. I think all three of you were very fortunate in having the right people adopt you.”

“Yeah, we were. But I wonder about my other three siblings who didn’t show up at our reunion last week.”

“Well, we know that two of them, Rosie and Charlie, tried to come but their humans had last minute things come up that kept them from joining us on Tuesday. Their moms emailed all of us to apologize and say they hope we all try to get together again. By the way, Rosie’s mom just emailed me to tell me that her brother’s family lives just a block away from us in Cambridge, and that the next time she goes to visit her brother’s family, she’ll bring Rosie along and walk over to our place so you two can play together.”

“Really, Mom! Wow! I can hardly wait to see Rosie again! When do you think they’ll come?”

“I don’t know, Floey. But I hope it’s before the snow flies. Regardless of when it is, at least you know you will see her again. Unfortunately, I think we’ve lost contact with your last sibling. They have never responded to any of our emails. We don’t know if they received them, or not.”

“You know, Mom, I’ve thought a lot about all my litter mates over the past week – since we got together last Tuesday. As I was thinking about them, I felt bad that three of them didn’t come to our reunion. But then on Sunday, I read over your shoulder when you were doing your early morning devotional reading. I’m glad you’ve picked up the JESUS CALLING book again. I like that book. In Sunday’s reading, Jesus said:

Try to see things more and more from My perspective. Let the Light of My Presence so fully fill your mind that you view the world through Me. When little things don’t go as you had hoped, look to Me lightheartedly and say, “Oh, well.” This simple discipline can protect you from being burdened with an accumulation of petty cares and frustrations.   [JESUS CALLING by Sarah Young, Thomas Nelson, 2004, p. 275]

“Even though I had a wonderful time playing with Frannie and Otis, I was feeling a little disappointed that I didn’t see the rest of my litter mates. I had expected to see and play with all five of them. But maybe it was best this way. The three of us sure had a good time. Maybe the others will come next time. I’m certainly not going to worry about it. I’m just thankful that Frannie, Otis, and I got together, and that we’ll do it again. JESUS CALLING helped me put everything in perspective. I’m really thankful I have litter mates and that they live close enough that at least some of us can get together to keep in touch. God is so good to us.”