Wednesday, February 2, 2011

tenderness

I have written often about the lessons that I have learned from Sophie...from dog love. I am still suprised, however, every time I catch myself seeing something differently in this word, or that I may have missed all together if it wasn't for Sophie...often things that have nothing to do with dogs.





In the last four years, since Sophie entered my life, I have become very tuned in to the moments, the tenderness, that often happens between a dog or a cat and their owner. I love when I catch a glimpse of those moments....an owner kneeling down in the dog park, taking her dog's face in her hands and kissing him right on the end of the nose; a co-worker's entire face lighting up as she tells us the antics her cat got up to the night before. Because of how I feel about Sophie, I am always aware of those glimpses of tenderness between other owners and pets...and now I realize that awareness has moved beyond just moments with dogs and cats.





On a recent trip to the US, while staying with my best friend, her lovely little three year old daughter quietly slipped into bed with me early one morning. She lay her head on my shoulder and said, "I think we should get up and start our day now." And it was a perfect moment...one I will carry in my heart always. Then, in a hotel in Orlando, I saw an older couple in the corridor in front of me notice a crib outside of one room. The man turned to his wife and said: "Remember when we were living in those days...when the kids were just babies?" And he gently took her hand...like he has probably done a million times before. And I smiled, unnoticed by the couple, at the tenderness I saw exchanged between them. Sophie brought those kind of moments into my life, made me really see them, and that has enabled me to appreciate them where ever they may turn up...in a hallway in a hotel or snuggled under the covers early on a Friday morning.

14 comments:

Lo said...

So touching!
So true.

dellartist said...

Isn't it a bit ironic, our dogs teach us to be better human beings?

Bruce said...

2010 was so busy for us because of racing that I have almost forgotten about my favorites in the blogging world. YOU, "Finding Sirius", are and will always be my first most favorite blog. Thank you for reminding me of that and I promise to visit more often this year. I am so happy that Sophie has enlightened your life. Personally, I LOVE the beginning of the movie "Love Actually" because of just the small things you are talking about, because Love Actually IS all around.
your blogging friends,
Sharon & Bruce the cat:)

Carolynn Anctil said...

Love it. That little 3 year old sounds precious....and precocious. *smile* Those moments are sacred.

Blessings,
Carolynn

RURAL said...

Perfectly worded.


Sigh.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

Rae said...

This is a beautifully worded post!!
I found your blog through Far Side and I am so glad I did. My greatest passion in life is dogs and I agree with all that you have written here. In my mind there is little that can match the love of a dog. As a kid I grew up loving a very special Border Collie and I gained more from that relationship than I did with many of the people in my life.

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

What a sweet post! How much we can learn from the love of a dog.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hi Andrea..and Sophie too..her eyes are so much like Chances! Beautiful moments, wouldn't it be nice if we could have more of these moments everyday..or perhaps they are there, we just need to look for them:)

Carolina said...

Hi Andrea and Sophie (not copying Far Side of Fifties, I swear ;-)), thanks for visiting me again. It's been a long time since I've visited you. I'm glad you and Sophie are doing fine (?). Your photos of her are gorgeous as always.
;-)

Kerry said...

Exquisite.

Unknown said...

I love your pictures. Wow, Sophie has very soulful eyes.. Please give me a woof at http://www.naturalk9supplies.com

Janie K. said...

Hi Andrea:
Your photographs are absolutely gorgeous! You can tell how passionate you are about photography and dogs too!

Sophie is a real cutie. I love border collies, well actually I love all dogs. Although not a border collie, I rescued a 10 year old red rough collie mix and she was adorable. Her name was Lady and I never had any type of collie before her. What was funny was that she kept going after my ankles, my husbands ankles and my dobermans ankles too. It took us awhile to realize that she was herding us! She was doing her job. Haha.

Maintaining Your Dog's Health & Happiness

Ronda said...

Hi Andrea...I just started following your blog. Your post hit a soft spot with me. I need to slow down a little and start seeing life through the eyes of my pets. I need to slow down and start observing the things around me. I'm usually in such a hurry to deal with day to day life, I sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses. This was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Ronda

Scout and Freyja said...

You write so well and your words are so touching. I truly wish you would blog more often...