I judged you today sir, and I'm sorry. I don't know you. Not your name, age, background info, nothing about you. But the sight of you angered me instantly. I mean, really angered me. It wasn't you exactly, it was what you were pushing. A stroller. And it wasn't just a stroller, for I am in the market for baby strollers right now and am making my list to evaluate and find on craigslist later. But this won't ever make it on my list. Because it was not a stroller for babies. It was a stroller for dogs. (Friends are you sitting down?) A double dog stroller. In it were two very ugly dogs whose tummy hairs touch the ground. They were just being pushed down the street. By you. You and your dogs. With all the tummy hair.
Now don't get me wrong, I am a dog person. Love them, pet them, snuggle them, kiss them, even have a whole other voice on reserve just for them and my cat Gus. Yup, I am a dog person. What gets me going are when people prioritize them over other people, and that's the category I had you in in an instant. "A guy who doesn't care about anything in this world but his dogs" guy. And those people bug me.
But then I got a phone call from my brother. He's in jail for the first and hopefully last time. He wants to know if I still love him...if I will want to see him when he gets out...and he's crying like a baby which is something I'm not used to hearing from an older sibling, being the baby of the crew. This is a new bottom for him and all I can do is pray that he will choose the right path for his life. That's it. There's nothing left for me to do. But this experience does not come without great mixed emotions. Emotions that are hard, deep, real, frightening. And this is not the first time I've experienced these emotions for this individual, and this is one person in my whole sphere of influence....suddenly stroller dog guy, I totally understand you.
I consider my life "easy". I consider my suffering "of later onset". Great childhood, great support system, awesome husband, yadda, yadda, yadda. And some days I want to hide in a closet, throw away phones and computers and any other access to the outside world. If people never talk to me, how then can they hurt me? Right?
This is where the dog thing makes sense...Does a dog forget to call on your birthday? Does a dog show up drunk to your basketball game? Does a dog take your money and spend all you have on his internet gambling problem? Does a dog call you names? Does a dog ignore you? (I'm not talking about cats, I said dog.) Does a dog tell you he doesn't love you anymore? Does a dog hit you and abuse you? Does a dog make you feel insecure or talk about you behind your back? Does a dog call you from jail and ask you if you ever want to see him again...while you're trying to hold it together and be strong to go dye Easter eggs with your kids? No. A dog wouldn't do that. So do you know what I'd do to thank him? Buy him a stroller. And if he had a best friend, I'd buy them a double one. And they'd be the coolest dogs in Washington and I'd take them wherever 22nd Ct. would go. Because they'd be my dogs and they, unlike people, would never hurt me.
So sir, stroll on. You deserve a break from the drama. Whatever may or may not have hurt you in the past cannot hurt you when you are out not-walking your dogs. So as you glide, clear your mind and gather strength to face the future challenges ahead, (one of them being exercising your dogs because you've just pushed them for 10 blocks and they just sat there) because they will come.
As for me, until Mike gets me a dog, I'll be turning to Costco pizza. Also helpful.
Now don't get me wrong, I am a dog person. Love them, pet them, snuggle them, kiss them, even have a whole other voice on reserve just for them and my cat Gus. Yup, I am a dog person. What gets me going are when people prioritize them over other people, and that's the category I had you in in an instant. "A guy who doesn't care about anything in this world but his dogs" guy. And those people bug me.
But then I got a phone call from my brother. He's in jail for the first and hopefully last time. He wants to know if I still love him...if I will want to see him when he gets out...and he's crying like a baby which is something I'm not used to hearing from an older sibling, being the baby of the crew. This is a new bottom for him and all I can do is pray that he will choose the right path for his life. That's it. There's nothing left for me to do. But this experience does not come without great mixed emotions. Emotions that are hard, deep, real, frightening. And this is not the first time I've experienced these emotions for this individual, and this is one person in my whole sphere of influence....suddenly stroller dog guy, I totally understand you.
I consider my life "easy". I consider my suffering "of later onset". Great childhood, great support system, awesome husband, yadda, yadda, yadda. And some days I want to hide in a closet, throw away phones and computers and any other access to the outside world. If people never talk to me, how then can they hurt me? Right?
This is where the dog thing makes sense...Does a dog forget to call on your birthday? Does a dog show up drunk to your basketball game? Does a dog take your money and spend all you have on his internet gambling problem? Does a dog call you names? Does a dog ignore you? (I'm not talking about cats, I said dog.) Does a dog tell you he doesn't love you anymore? Does a dog hit you and abuse you? Does a dog make you feel insecure or talk about you behind your back? Does a dog call you from jail and ask you if you ever want to see him again...while you're trying to hold it together and be strong to go dye Easter eggs with your kids? No. A dog wouldn't do that. So do you know what I'd do to thank him? Buy him a stroller. And if he had a best friend, I'd buy them a double one. And they'd be the coolest dogs in Washington and I'd take them wherever 22nd Ct. would go. Because they'd be my dogs and they, unlike people, would never hurt me.
So sir, stroll on. You deserve a break from the drama. Whatever may or may not have hurt you in the past cannot hurt you when you are out not-walking your dogs. So as you glide, clear your mind and gather strength to face the future challenges ahead, (one of them being exercising your dogs because you've just pushed them for 10 blocks and they just sat there) because they will come.
As for me, until Mike gets me a dog, I'll be turning to Costco pizza. Also helpful.
2 comments:
I get it too now. Maybe these super-hard challenges in our lives can lead to something good, like dog stroller guy finally being understood. Keep writing them down because we all gain from your experiences.
Awesome, Darbi. I get it too.
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