Our 95-pound Golden Retriever was eating grapes with great earnestness this morning. Joseph would take one bite and throw the remainder down for the waiting dog. I thought, "Strange. Dogs don't usually like fruit. Dogs don't eat grapes." And then I remembered that our poor dog hadn't been fed any actual dog food that day. It is Friday but I don't think that pets in Catholic homes need abide by the penitential demands of the day. No, the problem lies in Dave's absence. He has been away at a conference since early yesterday morning and will be back late tonight. He is the dog-feeder around these parts. Fortunately for Sammy the grapes triggered my dog-food conscience and I hustled together some canine breakfast. But the whole incident only made me long for Dave's presence even more. Now, don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoy the occasional solitary evening and I don't pine my days away waiting for the arrival of my husband. But when he isn't here when he usually is here (i.e. before and after work hours) his absence is felt keenly by all. The kids seem to whip up their worst behaviour and my lack of patience and wealth of exhaustion come to a stormy head. Somehow we managed supper (PB&J tonight!), bathtimes and a decent prayer time but the TV was turned on for that last 30 minutes before the banishment to the bedrooms. How could I possibly do this job on my own day in and day out? I stand in awe of the single parent who does his or her job well, or even reasonably well. I need my husband. I need my children's father here at my side. He holds a position of authority in this house that I simply don't have. He phoned today and when I answered, instead of hello, I said, "Come home..." He laughed and said that he would be home by 9 o'clock tonight. Phew, just in time to say goodnight to me. I love you, Dave.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Dogs Don't Like Grapes (Otherwise Titled: In Praise of my Husband)
Our 95-pound Golden Retriever was eating grapes with great earnestness this morning. Joseph would take one bite and throw the remainder down for the waiting dog. I thought, "Strange. Dogs don't usually like fruit. Dogs don't eat grapes." And then I remembered that our poor dog hadn't been fed any actual dog food that day. It is Friday but I don't think that pets in Catholic homes need abide by the penitential demands of the day. No, the problem lies in Dave's absence. He has been away at a conference since early yesterday morning and will be back late tonight. He is the dog-feeder around these parts. Fortunately for Sammy the grapes triggered my dog-food conscience and I hustled together some canine breakfast. But the whole incident only made me long for Dave's presence even more. Now, don't get me wrong, I certainly enjoy the occasional solitary evening and I don't pine my days away waiting for the arrival of my husband. But when he isn't here when he usually is here (i.e. before and after work hours) his absence is felt keenly by all. The kids seem to whip up their worst behaviour and my lack of patience and wealth of exhaustion come to a stormy head. Somehow we managed supper (PB&J tonight!), bathtimes and a decent prayer time but the TV was turned on for that last 30 minutes before the banishment to the bedrooms. How could I possibly do this job on my own day in and day out? I stand in awe of the single parent who does his or her job well, or even reasonably well. I need my husband. I need my children's father here at my side. He holds a position of authority in this house that I simply don't have. He phoned today and when I answered, instead of hello, I said, "Come home..." He laughed and said that he would be home by 9 o'clock tonight. Phew, just in time to say goodnight to me. I love you, Dave.
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2 comments:
Elena - that is a very beautiful post. Very honest, too. It is nice to have time away from each other - fundamental, really, I would say, to healthy relationships. But it only helps if the time away ends.
Just be careful, grapes and raisins can actually be toxic to dogs. It causes renal failure in some dogs.
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