A dog's world view

I'm all about tomorrow. Anticipating the future, being prepared for (or, my children assert, worrying about) what may come, laying the groundwork for something else.

My favorite day is Thursday, because it means Saturday is within reach. My least favorite day? Sunday. Because it's a whole week until the next Saturday. I check sunrise and sunset times with enthusiasm beginning Dec. 22 when each day brings a minute or so more daylight, and with resignation June 22 when we begin the descent to winter darkness. Forget that we're still enjoying more than 14 hours of light in early July... and that it's almost the reverse in January. It's the path we're on, the possibilities we're headed toward, that matters to me.

Enter Mr. James. He's a little Boston Terrier who came into our son's life as a stray dodging cars in a busy city intersection. Mr. James is all about now. Not one minute ago, and not one minute to come. RIGHT NOW.

Clearly, it works for him. He appears to have been well cared-for when he hit the streets without tags or any information to help us find his rightful owner. He has since escaped our yard as well - although now micro-chipped, those adventures now lead back to us.

But I don't think it matters much to Mr. James, because whatever he does, it's all good. Couldn't catch the squirrel he chased up a tree? Okay, there's a chipmunk to go after instead. This person got tired of rubbing his belly? Blink big brown bug-eyes at that person, who'll scratch his back. Slipped out the door, went running and forgot the way back for dinner? Somebody will find and feed him.

Even if Mr. James had to report to the office on Monday, I think he'd appreciate Sunday because there are things to see and do on Sunday, not bemoan the weekend drawing to a close. He'd appreciate 14 hours of daylight in July for whatever it brings today, with no sense of January's impending doom.

I'm pretty sure if I stood in the middle of a busy city intersection I'd get run over rather than rescued - a midwest, midlife mom with moderate views, I'm neither as distinctive nor as cute as Mr. James. So just taking what comes might not work as well for me as it does for him.

But still, I think there's much I can learn about noticing and appreciating what is, today, this moment, from this little dog. With this blog, I intend to try.