A Walk in the Woods

You can never go home again. I don’t necessarily believe that. I know I can’t go back to the times of when I lived at my mom’s house, where my parents made sure I got up for school everyday and where our family sat around the kitchen table playing Sheepshead (the card game this blog is named for) all night long. This won’t ever be the case again. Things do change and you can’t go back to a different time.

What you can do is visit often, take pictures, and relive memories. My dog, Chip, turned 13 in human years this past week. My mom had a party for him (no, not one with other dogs and birthday hats. Don’t be that afraid) where a few of her friends came over for a cookout. The dog’s birthday is an excuse to get friends to enjoy a visit. Everyone had a good time. Each of the dogs (Taco is the other) got some hamburger and the cat (Mac) had a little extra tuna (yes, the cat is the namesake of Matt’s blog, The Window Licking Cat). A friend of the family gave Chip gift certificates for McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Chip had the best birthday ever!

I was unable to make the party (I had to work) so my mom asked me to come over today to give Chip a good tummy scratching. I went over to the house today and saw my babies. Yes, they are the babies. I know, I know, our family is one of those weird ones that adore the pets. The dogs (and cat) are important members of the family. I’m pretty sure my mom loves them more than me (well, maybe). As odd as my mom can be (see Post #100 and My Mother Finally Became Blog Worthy), she knows what is important to her and she lives her life focusing on these things. Taco, Chip, and Mac are number ones on her list. The pets are spoiled but then, if they create such joy and happiness in someone’s life, don’t they deserve the best?

In the interest of photography, spending time with the pets, and scrapbooking, I suggested we take a trip to the woods by our old home. That’s right, we were going to G-O for a W-A-L-K in the W-O-O-D-S! Taco and Chip used to only know the word ‘walk’. Then they learned ‘woods’ and finally, anytime we said ‘go’ they would get excited.

We hopped in the cars and took off for adventure. Taco is 17 and Chip is 12 so the time in the woods is shorter than it used to be. It was still a great time. When we got there, Mom carried Taco down to the path (to save his energy for the fun part). Chip ran back and forth, crying because Taco wasn’t right next to him. Talk about brotherhood. Taco is the world to Chip. We used to say that Chip was Taco’s dog, not the family’s. Anytime Chip is not right next to Taco he worries. He loves him so much. This warms my heart.

The boys explored the underbrush as Mom and I chatted. I got a little exercise (not a bad thing) and I feel at peace. The woods are a beautiful place to escape for a bit. I am going to post a few pictures of the day on the blog to share in the experience.

I got to thinking about previous adventures with Taco and Chip in the woods. Thinking about them makes me want to share them. It’s not that they are the best stories, they just explain how wonderful it is to have a pet as part of your life.

Chip is terrified of water. We got him from a pet shop and he’s been skittish from day one. He may be skittish, but he’s also daring. He is interested in anything new and he likes to check out different sounds. The first loud sound will make him jump but then bravery will kick in and he’s there, creeping towards the sounds trying to figure out what it was. When he was very little (the first summer we had him) we took him to the woods. He heard the creek trickling by and he stood on the shoreline checking out the sound. Frogs jumped back and forth, trying to dodge his little feet. As Chip was sniffing the ground, the ground gave out on him! Splash! Suddenly, Chip was in the water, scrambling to get back to the shore. He didn’t go in far, it just surprised him. Once he got back to the new shoreline, Chip shook himself off and stared at the water. We could just see the thoughts processing in his head. He backed away from the water, confused as to how that happened, and then decided to enjoy the rest of his time in the woods.

Taco has always been an adventure dog, an explorer. He loves little caves and places that are just the right size for him. As a puppy, Taco would take the chances to run out the front door for an adventure. It scared me every single time. Luckily, nothing bad ever happened. There were times when Taco would escape (and he always came home on his own fifteen minutes later) and run for the woods. He’d take off in the clearings, checking out the noises in the fields of tall grass (a.k.a. overgrown weeds). He’d come home with a satisfied look on his face, as if to say, "I learned about … today." Taco is getting very old and he’s running out of energy. The adventures are not as frequent anymore but whatever chance we have to give him happiness will be taken. He has given my family more happiness than we could have ever thought.

On the subject of Taco’s age, I want to explain how wonderful my mom is. Even if she acts crazy, there is no one better to take care of these wonderful dogs. My dad used to say that if reincarnation were what happens, he’d like to come back as one of my mom’s pets. There is no life better. Taco’s eyesight is going and he’s getting a little disorientated when he walks. He won’t go down the stairs at night anymore. My mom will get up in the middle of the night to carry him outside if he needs to go. She built him a ramp to get onto the bed. Today she showed her love for him by carrying him to the point of the walk where he would have the most fun. When that was over, she carried him back to the car. There is nothing my mom wouldn’t do for Taco and Chip. Why? Because they gave her love.

When my mom comes home from work, Taco will be sleeping on the floor. She’ll get down next to him and "play fight". He’ll wake up and his tail will wag back and forth. He may be slower than he was as a puppy, he might not see as well as he once did, but he still loves life.
A funny note about my mom. She just called me because she thought Chip was 13. This didn’t seem right to me and I questioned it tonight. When she called, she told me that she did miscalculate and he’s only 12 years old. This reminded me of when I turned 23. I went to dinner with my mom and she wished me a Happy 22nd Birthday. I was talking to her last week about having a day off this week and she said, "For your birthday?" I explained that I was born in October and her response was, "Oh yeah! I was there!"

I love her. And I love my dogs. They are a reason for joy.

2 Comments:

At 8:12 PM, The Lioness said...

You too are a reason for joy.

At 6:50 PM, CarpeDM said...

What a great post, Beth. I loved reading about Taco and Chip's big day.

Your mom is great. What a wonderful story of her devotion.

I know you're going to be like this as well. There was the comment "Oh, you won't go into the nursing home. I'll take care of you." I will never forget that (okay, I probably will because I forget everything but I'll never forget how I felt when you said that. You're so dang awesome).