I learned some things today. Until today a shower has always been that thing in the bathroom where my people clean themselves. And the sun has always been that bright thing that rises and sets upon each day. It turns out there is more to these words than meets the eye.
The day began like most Saturdays, with my forever people doing chores and various tasks around the house following slightly more family cuddle time than usual. Except today they both kept talking about the shower. I didn’t understand it. It felt like every other word was shower and by noon I was incredibly confused. I remained in a quandary when they left me to go to the shower. It’s right here, I screamed in silence, in the bathroom.
So you can imagine my stupor when they returned home a few hours later with presents. Lots of them. And (as is the case with most misunderstandings) it turns out I was missing a very important piece of the contextual puzzle. This shower wasn’t like the one in the bathroom. It was a baby shower, which I now understand to be a shower of gifts to help us all prepare for the arrival of my little person.
Mom and dad shared stories of the afternoon while they revisited each of the gifts. The story that stuck with me most was of two of my favorite little people (Sophie and Abigail) singing a song I hold dear to my heart with my mom’s friend Dorian.
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray…you’ll never know dear how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”
Once I got over the initial disappointment of missing the in-person show, these famous words (by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell) sunk a little deeper into my heart. As I sat by watching my people I was overcome with my own sense of gratitude for the situation.
They are my sunshine. My forever people will never know how much I love them, partially because I can’t say so out loud and partially because you can’t put love this big into words. And (at least from what I can tell) amongst the blankies and diapers the greatest gift of all was the love they received today.
I guess you could say they were showered with love. And I was overcome with joy. From the ground up, it was a pretty happy day around here. All of the clouds in the sky could not mask the sunshine in these moments. Joy and gratitude filled their hearts and I realized that is all the sunshine I really need.
I learned some things today. It turns out there is much more to showers and sunshine than meets the eye. Today these words did much more. They touched the heart.
Wiley's Wisdom 
Baby showers are such an outpouring of love!!!! So thankful your momma’s day was filled with tons of blessings!!!! You have to be one of the most photogenic dogs Wiles…maybe it is just because we are like kindred spirits or something…whatever it is it is pawesome indeed!!!! Love, hugs and treats little cutie!!!!
Dear Trev….we are indeed kindred spirits. Simple as that. I love that about us. 😉 High paw friend!
My dad used to sing that song to me when I was little… My puppy arrives next month Wiley DV, and I’ll introduce him to you
That is such a nice song to sing a child – I am pretty sure my people will be singing it to baby S when the time comes. And I can’t wait to “meet” the new puppy! What kind?
Lots of love,
Wiles
he’s a staffie (Staffordshire Bull Terrier), and will be charming and friendly – as all our other Staffies were…
I met a full-grown Staffie named Louie the other day. He was a big ole ball of muscly love. 😉
🙂
What a wonderful post, Wiley. Love can be the sunlight on a grey day – that’s true and love not only warms our feet, it warms even our heart and our soul :o)
Wow. Dear brother, you are feeling mighty sentimental today. Well said!!
I think they know how much you love them, W. Even though we can’t speak, our love for our humans shines through in every look, lick, cuddle, and game from the ground up.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
I hope you’re right about that, dear Cupcake. But then again – you tend to be right about these things, so I suppose I shouldn’t question you. 😉
Lots of love to you and mom,
Wiles
That’s one of my favorite songs! My Mom Person sings it all the time. You’re a ray of sunshine Wiley!
Thank you so much for your kind words friend!!!
Such a sweet boy you are, Wiley 🙂 (I sing “You Are My Sunshine” to my grandson and I think Max enjoys it, too.)
I’m certain your grandson and Max both enjoy it equally, even if Max doesn’t know how to show it. It is such a great song, after all. Thank you so much for your kind words, new friend! 🙂
Lots of love to you,
Wiles
Wyles, you continually amaze me, you great dog. Excellent reporting on what is a baby shower and its purpose, as well as the need for sunshine in its various guises – Vitamin D or love. Did anyone mention that men used to not go to baby showers? Uh huh, they did not. It was women’s business – and now, it’s both parents, which I think is both great and a little tiny loss of women’s magic.
Dear friend,
It brightens my day to know I brightened yours. And it’s funny you say that about men and baby showers…mom’s was old school that way. Dad was kind enough to drop her off and pick her up (as well as load all the presents into the car) but didn’t stay for the show. As it should be. 😉
Lots of love,
Wyles
Oh! Somehow from the story when they walked into the house talking about the baby shower and viewing the gifts, I thought they’d both been present. Ah, women’s magic. I never realized just how powerful that circle can be until I attended a baby shower – at first, it was all women and you could actually feel the energy whirling and the magic gathering strength. Then, gradually, the men in the firm came in, as well as the new father, and it wafted out the door – it was just different….
Dad was mom’s driver, so that is probably why you got that impression. But you’re right – there is something about when the gals all get together, especially to celebrate the upcoming birth of a child. Mom was glowing that day. 🙂
Lots of love,
Wyles
[…] This is a baby shower. And this time I even got to participate! It was very different than my last baby shower experience, when I relied only on the stories my people shared with each other afterward to understand the […]
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Sunshine doesn’t have to be in the sky to make someone’s day.