On That Journey October 7, 2014

It’s happened only in recent weeks. And it’s one of those things that doesn’t go unnoticed by your resident four-legged friend. All things animated have taken over the living room of my forever home. From cartoons like Doc McStuffins and her gang of characters and the well-known clan from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to fan favorites like Disney’s Dumbo or Toy Story, they’ve all started to become part of the cast of my day. 

Mom has her favorites, too, I’ve noticed, including Anastasia. One song in particular got me to thinking as I heard it for the millionth time today. “Journey to the Past” highlights the main character’s attempts to piece together her past in attempt to define her identity and move forward with her future. It got me to thinking what it might be like to actually travel to the past, to re-experience or experience historical things for the first (or second) time.

If I had my choice, I’m not sure I would do it. Mostly because while I think the past plays a valuable role in both the present and the future, the future is life’s proverbial question mark. I make it a point in my optimistic way of thinking to never question the present that is presence, the past that leads to it or the future that follows. But in reality the past is past. We’ve lived it. And if we haven’t lived it, there are ways to relive it through the historical documents that highlight all things important.

So no. If I had a choice, I would not travel back in time. I would travel forward. I would seek to see the things I know I will most likely miss in my short doggie lifespan. Like dear baby Carter’s wedding day, or the day he gets his first four-legged friend. Or the 25th wedding anniversary of my dear forever parents. Or my the day(s) my dear aunt Morgan’s children are born. Heck, I’ve even said I will consider myself lucky to get a chance to get to train my doggie replacement someday.

I think what I’ve taken from thinking about all of this is a reminder I too frequently take for granted. The present of presence in each and every moment we live is so important, because we never do know when the future will get taken away from us.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves,” as the very famous English poet William Shakespeare once said. I don’t need a time machine to transport me anywhere but here for me to agree.

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For A Moment May 7, 2014

It’s probably not the coolest thing for a little boy to do. I’m sure playing baseball or driving imaginary cars is way more trendy. But he’s way too young for that yet anyway. So instead we danced. And it was another one of those special moments you wish you could somehow bottle up for a rainy day.

Every other time I can remember the dancing, it was mom who started it. “Wiley, up” is the signal that its about to start. And this time it was dad saying it instead of mom. I guess it made sense since mom was holding baby Carter. So there we were – the four of us – dancing together like a bunch of goofs. The song choice this time around was 100 years by “Five for Fighting,” which is an important detail because of what happened next.

Moments after the scene came together, mom paused to go grab her camera phone in an attempt to capture the moment. It’s probably pretty hard to believe, but the picture taking has gotten way more frequent since my little person came into the world. I’m talking hundreds and hundreds of pictures, mostly of Carter, with the occasional ones of me or other family members scattered in the mix. Sometimes I wonder about this, since in a dog’s world you live the moment. You don’t take pictures of it. Not to mention sometimes she gets so caught up taking the picture to remember the moment that she misses the moment itself.

Clearly I’m not alone in my opinion, because in that moment mom got scolded. “Put the phone down and enjoy the now,” dad said. If I could have I would have given him a high paw. But alas I was in his arms so this was impossible. Instead I (happily) stayed where I was and dancing like ninnies resumed without further incident.

I found the whole thing ironic given the point of the song is to find joy in the moment regardless of what phase of life your living. The point is you’re in the moment. And you’re living. So today there is no picture. At least not of the dancing. In the moment, that is what mattered. And we don’t need proof. It will live on forever in our hearts. Maybe that’s better anyway, since I don’t know how cool dancing is in the confusing world of little people.