I’ll Be A Flashlight June 30, 2014

It’s not the first time it has happened, and I know it won’t be the last. Albeit briefly, we lost power for a bit tonight. For a few precious minutes it was darkness in my dear forever home, and I’m not going to lie. I loved it.

Please do not misunderstand. I love technology (when used for the right reasons) just as much as the next pup. But for me, sometimes there is nothing better than when there aren’t any screens in sight around here. I’m not kidding when I say it was brief either. We’re talking five to ten minutes. But I also do not kid when I say how special those five to ten minutes are to me when they happen.

Because these things do happen around here from time to time. Not so much last summer, but throughout the early summertime the years prior there was a lot of similar storms that tore through the area with all of their might. And (again) while I do not endorse the damage I know can happen in light of such events, I do wholeheartedly support the emotional connections that can happen when there is no electricity in a home.

The first time it happened with me around was a night my people will not forget any time soon. I remember it vividly since it involved flooding and a lot of activity in the neighborhood. I was in awe of how well everyone  banded together to make sure everyone in the neighborhood who needed power had it. Though there was no need for such a partnership tonight, I observed my own sunshine amidst the overcast clouds.

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that it came from dear baby Carter, who today turned six months old. Oh, how I do love his little self and all it embodies. I love his smile and all it means. I love him and all the love he brings to others.

I was reminded today of the importance of light and the bearing it can give to others. I forget that sometimes, but it’s easy to be reminded of such things when the power goes out and there is no light in my dear forever home. Albeit for a brief period of time, I’ve noticed that time and time again it doesn’t matter how many lights may be lit within my special place. Because there is light enough within my people to keep the light of joy shining brightly around here. And if it dims, I will be the flashlight that brings things back into focus.

On Solitude: A Spoonful of Peanut Butter

Though they may bring sadness, loneliness and solitude are one in the same. Yet I know what follows is joy.

Wiley's Wisdom

I am a believer in the theory that sometimes (but not always) less is more. This is why I can say with absolute certainty what I’m about to say. Solitude sucks. I know I have previously commented on silence and my loathing of the communication gap between canines and their people, but solitude is far worse a reality than silence.

While I tend to agree with the majority of what transcendentalist thinker Henry David Thoreau had to say, I have found my exception to the rule.

“I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude,” Thoreau suggested. It is at this point that I take my turn away from the Thoreau way of thought. I would much rather be silent amidst a gaggle of loved ones than at a fabulously orchestrated event all by my lonesome.

I think it is true of most dogs who have an unbreakable…

View original post 357 more words

Eye of the Beholder June 29, 2014

Apparently it’s not just me. It happens to other doggies all the time regardless of breed or upbringing. It’s common regardless of whether it is a rescue dog or a pup from a breeder. Good dogs fail (and subsequently) drop out of obedience school all the time. While I figured this had to be the case, I would be lying if I said the news of this did not allow me to breathe a measurable sigh of relief.

Because I might not have a pretty piece of paper that says I graduated from puppy school. To this day, I struggle with basic commands like heel and down (I can’t help it that I get excited). But I would argue what I have is better than any of these things. I have the deepest and sincerest love in my heart. For my beloved forever people. For their families. For life. Joy. From the ground up, I have it in these things.

I was reminded of this today when I shared a special (albeit routine) glance with my beloved forever mom. We have an unspoken language of love, her and I, and it happened again today. Dear baby Carter has been doing this thing where he gets up on all fours like he’s going to crawl and then just sort of bounces there for several minutes at a time. If anything, he moves backward instead of forward. Nonetheless, it’s become somewhat of a sideshow around here lately and when it happened tonight, mom and dad dropped everything to live in the moment.

Meanwhile, I stood by watching this all unfold. I didn’t feel badly and certainly didn’t need any reassurance that I was part of the group. But I got it anyway. I stayed out of harm’s way several feet from the action but this I could not miss. She looked at me and smiled and I saw right through her eyes into her heart in that moment. She loves me as she always did.

It’s funny, I didn’t need obedience school to read my mom’s thoughts. Nor did she need the classes to communicate to me. It reminds me of the words of dog trainer Fred Jungclaus, who said “I used to look at my dog and think if you were a little smarter you could tell me what you’re thinking and he’d look at me like he was saying if you were a little smarter, I wouldn’t have to.” I don’t want to brag, but I think mom and I have it under control. I don’t need a pretty piece of paper to know this in my heart as truth.

You’ve Got a Friend In Me

This made me realize how much I miss my Diesel since he moved away to Minnesota with his forever people. I think mom and dad miss the people too. 😦

Wiley's Wisdom

Guy friends are underestimated if you ask me. I mean, everyone always talks about the sisterhood of the traveling collars, but I’m not so sure. Guys are simple. We see things for what they are and usually say so.

I’ve recently been spending a little extra time with my guy pal Diesel. Six months ago, I was bigger than him and now he’s bigger than me. I suppose size doesn’t matter in friendships though, so I digress.

From what I’ve seen and heard about gals, that’s not always the case. I don’t mean to generalize as I’m certain not all gal pals are the same. But I do think there is a certain encouragement of judgmental thinking and unreasonably high standards for things I just don’t understand.

I’ve struggled with this lately on my journey with Simple Abundance. I “cheated” recently and looked ahead a few days and it’s…

View original post 207 more words

On Top of the World June 28, 2014

It’s not that much unlike when mom says “Wiley, up.” I know what to expect when that happens, just as I do when she says “it’s dance party time” to dear baby Carter. It happens at about the same time every day, and I can’t help but pause to pay respect to the progress we’ve made with this thing called routine around here.

A few months ago, it was pretty laborious. Eat, sleep, poop, repeat. I speak, of course, of the perpetual motion of the first few months of a little person’s life. We adjusted, we planned accordingly, and we have moved on. Don’t get me wrong, routine still (and probably always will) play a key role around here. But it’s different now. Now, it involves so much more.

Like dance parties. It doesn’t happen every day because of mom and that thing called work, but it happens often enough for it to be routine. And it happened again today. “It’s dance party time,” mom said. And he may only be just shy of six months old, but I know in my heart that Carter knew exactly what would come next.

Into his jumperoo he went and the dance party began. Which basically consists of mom dancing around Carter’s room like a ninny while Carter jumps happily in his jumperoo. Jump, jump, jump. From the ground up, this has become the equivalent of joy, joy, joy around here.

The best part (at least in my opinion) is that for some completely unknown and random reason, there is one song that seems to always happen during this special time. “I’m on top of the world,” sings Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Evans. Mom dances, Carter jumps. And my heart sings.

Joy. From the ground up, I noticed something while this happened today. There is that special “Joy” sign in Carter’s room that defines joy. As that is what I strive to do with each and every day, I ponder it pretty frequently.

So today when that song came on the radio and mom danced and Carter jumped (and smiled all-the-while), I lived one of the definitions of joy. Joy: “a source or cause of delight.” And I realized it’s not that unlike when mom says “Wiley, up.”

I know what to expect when that happens, just as I do when she says “it’s dance party time” to dear baby Carter. Not only does this mean there is silly dancing and jumping in the near future. But also joy in its purest form.

 

Living the Dream

Where do you wear your heart?

Wiley's Wisdom

Big dogs don’t cry. I’m not ashamed to admit little ones do. It’s no secret that I wear my heart on my proverbial sleeve. But there was a time I wasn’t so open to expressing my emotions. My time on the streets and in the humane society had hardened my perspective on the world. Fortunately the world has a way of changing our perspective on things.

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way,” English poet William Blake suggested. “Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and  some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature  is imagination itself.”

My eyes were opened on a hot August day almost three years ago when I met my adoptive parents for the first time. Just as perspective changes things for the bad…

View original post 189 more words

To Leave A Trail June 27, 2014

I might be biased in saying so, but it’s hasn’t stopped me before and it’s not going to stop me now. The concept that men are from Mars and women are from Venus is absolutely brilliant. And I say this as a self-proclaimed observer of people who has learned a thing (or six) from my time watching the world around me.

There is this fundamental thing that never ceases to amaze me about men and women. Men want to fix things. It’s in their blood. It’s kind of like how the terrier in me makes me want to tackle the chipmunks mom loves so much (and therefore keeps me from eating). Meanwhile, women don’t always care to fix things, because some things don’t need fixing. Or so I thought.

Here’s what I’ve learned about men and women. Men care a lot. Women care a lot about a lot of things. This is not to put down either perspective, but alas I’ve found some meaning in the differences. Sometimes the things the men want to fix may or may not actually need fixing. Therein lies the difference between men and women, because (at least from what I can tell) women actually need to fix things more than their male counterparts.

I think it’s because they care so much. About so much. Truly, I think if I cared as much about as many people and things mom did, my heart would explode. Instead I keep it simple. Regardless, mom cares (a lot) about a lot, which makes me love her even more.

Because I might be biased in saying so, but the concept that men and women approach things differently is recognizably different to me. Perhaps this is because I approach life as my favorite transcendental thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested when he said ” do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

That is all anyone can hope for in a relationship. To leave a meaningful trail.

On Self-Esteem: A Book and its Cover

Diet is a four letter word. Seriously. Count it yourself. 🙂

Wiley's Wisdom

I hate the way my mom looks at herself in the mirror. Or (worse yet) when she avoids looking at herself entirely because of the disdain for the body looking back at her. I know it’s a common issue among women to reflect negatively about their appearance, but I just don’t understand it. And I don’t care to understand it. It breaks my little doggie heart to see her look at herself that way.

“It is never too late to be what you might have been,” the fabulous George Eliot once said. Well, I refuse to be anything other than what I’m meant to be, which is a source of joy. Joy is not in my mom’s face when she looks in the mirror, which bothers me even more given that the past several days of my journey with Simple Abundance have taught me that my Daybook of Comfort and Joy indeed cannot be judged by their…

View original post 365 more words

Just A Day June 26, 2014

 

It began and ended with Carter. Today was one of those days you lock away and hold onto for when the sun doesn’t come out. Because today, the sun shined brightly on the Schmidt family, both figuratively and literally.

It was a beautiful day in Wisconsin – not too hot, not too cold – which is a welcome change from a frequent run of dreary or foggy or rainy days we’ve had. I’ve noticed this kind of weather has a way of changing people, usually for the better. It inspires people to get out. To exercise. To live.

The same could be said of the Schmidt household today. It started with this, Carter doing what he does best lately, otherwise known as taking over anything and everything involving technology. From television remotes, to phones to computers, he is already taking over the world one gadget at a time.

Then this happened. We sat together, calmly and collected. This doesn’t happen often as I have become a bit fearful of his strong grasp and shrill sounds. But today it happened and it warmed my heart.

A good deal of time passed while mom was away at that place called work. But when she returned and Carter was napping, I got a glimpse into a past life I had. One where it was just mom and I (and dad, of course) and we had all the time in the world to do things like snuggle in her hammock. Otherwise known as a happy place of hers, it had become a favorite place of mine before she opted not to tempt fate climbing in and out of it while pregnant. Well, today I remembered those days, as we snuggled together while she read a book and sipped iced tea.

              

The only excuse I have for what happened next was the fly that was in my territory inside my forever home. No fly (or any other small creature of its kind) should be allowed to roam within the walls of my territory as long as I have something to say (er, I mean woof) about it. But ever since I conquered a fly by eating it last year, I can’t seem to approach them the same way. So I will admit it. I hid.

I’m not sure why I chose Carter’s changing table as the best of all possible hiding places in the house, but that’s neither here nor there. Because it started and ended with Carter. Beginning to end, he is becoming more and more of a meaningful character in my life. And I love him for it because today was not that much unlike other days around here. Today was filled with joy and happiness. Today was filled with life.

Remembering Ramsey

We learn so much from the characters we meet.

Wiley's Wisdom

I will never forget my second first day at the Oshkosh Humane Society.

Yes, friends, you read that right. While it is not a chapter of life I am proud of, I haven’t kept it a secret that I was adopted my another family before my forever parents found me. I was adopted by a family who opted to return me to the shelter after a mere couple of weeks because they felt I had too serious of behavioral issues. Sure, my small 20-pound frame jumped their 4-foot fence. Yes, I also jumped out of a moving vehicle. And all right already, I did grab that stinker of a cat Tessa and give her a good shake by the neck.

That first adoptive home included three other dogs and two cats and I wanted to make an impression. I wanted to stand out and to make them love me best so I…

View original post 517 more words