Happiness for $1.88

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Added: Sun. Nov 08, 2009 12:41pm
Posted in: Living

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I like to think that you can find a lot of happiness in small things, and I just bought a big bunch of it for about $1.88...plus tax.

First, the backstory.  I've been getting used to an "empty nest" for a couple of months now, and that's going okay.  But it's still not exactly "empty"--the last of the kids has gone off to school, but the dog and the cat are still here and getting used to this new world order too.  And am I ever getting a lot of attention from them as a result.  They're both getting a lot more conversation from me too, since they're both on the stairs waiting for me to turn the key in the door when I get home.  I can't sit down on the sofa at any time for any reason without suddenly finding a sixteen pound cat that looks like a bear sprawled across my lap, purring.  As I leave for work, I turn the radio on and tell them, "okay, you kids stay out of trouble while I'm gone!"  Yeah, we're probably all a little nuts. 

Changes always bring new routines, and one of mine lately is that I'm trying to spend a little time each day now with Bandit, tossing a tennis ball outside for him to chase.  Aside from standing on the sill of the bay window and barking at the world, that's pretty much his job.  Just for the record, that little guy in the picture at the top of this blog isn't Bandit, it's my "grand-pug," Golden Boy, but the working theory fits pretty much most of the dogs I know.   

There's a lot that can make a dog happy.  A hunk of juicy steak.  A rabbit in the yard.  A squirrel on the back porch to chase into the woods.  The words "good doggie!"  But boy oh boy, does Bandit love to chase a tennis ball!  They're scattered all over the yard, and if you step outside for more than a minute, chances are he'll start following you around with one to throw.  Even moreso since we started this as a daily routine.  I figured out just how much it meant to him when I woke up in the middle of the night recently to get a drink of water, stepped out of the bedroom, and found him parked next to my door...with a tennis ball a few inches away.

So on the way home from work the very next day, I stopped off at a "big box" store and bought a can of fresh tennis balls for him.  For starters, the old ones are covered with dirt and beaten up by the weather.  Next, they're so old they've kind of lost their bounce.  Which wouldn't be much of a problem, except for the third thing, which is the fact that I throw like a girl, so a limp tennis ball doesn't go very far when I pitch it down the driveway.  Not much challenge there, though Bandit hasn't complained.  Just looked a little bored once in a while.

I got home, let Bandit outside, opened the lid and popped open the seal on the fresh fuzzy yellow tennis balls before I ever got into the house.  I held one up, and his eyes lasered in on the target.  I gave it a throw, and off he raced in hot pursuit.  The new ball, still clean and dry, bounced about six feet the first time it landed, and kept my old dog going much farther down the driveway, with a lot more leaps and a lot more fun.  If dogs could smile, he'd have been grinning from ear to ear.  Instead, he trotted back to me with the enthusiasm of a kindergartner kicking up a pile of autumn leaves, a fresh spring in his step, his tail wagging like a metronome back and forth.  He dutifully dropped the new ball at my feet, and we did it again and again and again...until I finally got tired of throwing. 

So, the bottom line is, for about $1.88...plus tax, I've got a happy dog.  And when I've got a happy tail-wagging dog, I can't help but be a happy person too!  

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