Fridays are Golden

Life often seems so complicated, doesn't it?  We have so much to do with so many things to worry about.  We try to do it all, giving it everything we've got.

This past month has been different at our house, especially for the dogs.  Used to a constant routine, they had to adapt to some changes.  Why is the injured player using those two aluminum poles when he walks?  When is he going to come downstairs to the den and play with us?  He doesn't even sit on the floor.  The girls have accepted the changes and remain loyal caregivers.

In the evenings they are exhausted.  After dinner they play together and I toss tennis balls to them until they decide they are just too tired to go on.  Then they plop in their beds.

Here they are in their beds.  I have no idea how they know which bed belongs to which dog, but more often than not each is in her own bed.  (My husband says that's why he had their names put on them.)  At any rate, in most instances Lucy tends to take a bit more than her share.

Please don't ask me to get up, Mom!

Maybe if I don't even look at her she won't ask me to get up.

Unlike humans, dogs know when they should work and when they should play.  We should take a lesson from them.

When I was working, the most dreaded days of my year came with the annual "Strategic Planning" sessions when all the senior management team went away and spent two days listening to an over-paid motivational planner.  Oh, and don't forget the participation in those horrid "ice-breakers."  You all pretend to enjoy the sessions and leave the two-day off-site planning pretending to be refreshed and renewed.

While I truly detested these sessions, I almost always came away with at least one thing that was helpful to me.  One such gem was a story about two men in a contest for chopping wood.

Each man was alloted the same stacked quantity of logs.  They both started out with great enthusiasm.  Man #1 continued to work at a frenzied pace.  Man #2 worked hard as well, but periodically he walked away and sat on a stump for a while.  Man #1 was delighted to see the other man taking so many breaks.  He did not stop at all, but kept plugging away.  Imagine his surprise when he saw Man #2 chopping his last log and winning the contest.  Exhausted, he walked over to the man and asked, "How in the world did you beat me?  I saw you stopping to rest several times while I kept on chopping."  The winner replied, "While I was resting I was sharpening my axe."

Learn a lesson here.  This weekend, while you scurry about, remember that you need to occasionally stop to sharpen your axe."

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!!!