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June 27, 2008 ~ Accepting Charlie’s Invitation

June 27, 2008

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.

~ Samuel Butler

How long has it been since you played? I mean, purposely got silly and goofy, and really had fun just remembering what it was like to be a kid again?

This morning our dog Charlie invited me to play. I was sitting in the den drinking my morning coffee and watching the news (how very grown-up of me!) when he ran into the room with his favorite toy held between his teeth, a stuffed fox with squeakers in its tummy and tail. Charlie sat at my feet with his own tail beating the rug in eager expectation of shared fun. I took another sip of breakfast blend and turned my attention back to the TV – I was too tired to play.

Charlie doesn’t easily take no for an answer. He managed a muffled bark through the furry fox which was still securely held in his mouth, stood up, and amped up his tail-wagging until his rear fenders were wagging too. So I set down my coffee, took the fox from his mouth and threw it across the room, mostly to get Charlie to leave me alone. But Charlie didn’t want to leave me alone. He wanted my attention. He wanted me to play! Again and again he chased after the flying fox and returned with it in his mouth with the same impassioned look that said, “C’mon! Get with the program here! Let’s really play!”

With nothing really more important to do, and having enjoyed dabbling in Charlie’s play-world, I got down on the floor with Charlie and did what he loves best – wrestling. He growled at me like he was a big Rottweiler and not a harmless fluff-ball, he put his mouth gently around my arm in a faux-bite move and I rolled him over and pinned him down until he “surrendered.” I chased him around the first floor, and he ran from me until his tongue hung out and we both needed to sit down and recover. Then we did it again. And again. I laughed, and he wagged that fluffy tail of his. It was bliss!

Sometimes we need to be invited to leave our very serious, very intense adult world behind and enter into the play-world of those with younger, sprighter spirits, whether it be child or gentle beast. Through them we can lighten our own hearts and relearn the simple joys of pretending, unbridled movement, and having fun for fun’s sake.

So, how long has it been since you chased around the house after a chipper dog-friend? Got wrist deep in some orange play-doh? Lay tummy-down on the floor with a coloring book and a fresh box of crayons? As I learned this morning, it’s good for the soul. This is going to be a much happier day because Charlie invited me to play!

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from → Breast Cancer, Cancer, Cancer Survival, Comfort, Dog, Family, Fun, Playing
4 Comments leave one →
  1. pat permalink
    June 27, 2008 4:44 pm

    lori, i love your website. you are a wonderful woman of God and it comes through strong. God bless you and we are praying for you!
    I would like to suggest that you go to Chuck Colson (BreakPoint.org) May2008 letter saying to “Stay Out of The Shack”. Since you state that one of your favorite books is The Shack, I thought maybe you’d like to read Chuck Colson’s view on that book.
    Blessings!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous permalink
    June 29, 2008 1:02 am

    The comment box works now!! :) I sent you an email, but I LOVE this post…It cracks me up.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. July 12, 2008 ~ Backyard Blessings « My Own Road Home ~ A Very Personal Journey With God Through The Shadowlands
  2. December 9, 2008 ~ A Kodak Moment « My Own Road Home

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