DAY 58 - MY PUPPY WELCOMING COMMITTEE

Sierra and Pippa

Living alone has its perks – and its challenges. And for someone as social and people-oriented as I am, living solo is something I struggle with. As I fly around the country, I have no one to tell my flight plans to. If (heaven forbid) a plane I was on crashed, it would likely be a day or two before anyone realized that I had been on that particular flight. Sure, it’s nice to not have to check in with anyone when I want to change my plans at a moment’s notice – but I also have no one to say Goodbye to when I leave, and no one to Welcome me when I return.

Sierra and Pippa, not liking the suitcase

   No one, that is, except for my Puppy Welcoming Committee. It’s why I’m a dog-person and not a cat-person. When you get home, even after a long stretch – you can walk through the door and barely get a glance from a cat. But with dogs, oh they notice you’ve been gone. Pippa is usually the first to hear my approach and runs to the window. Then Sierra figures out what is going on, comes to the window to check – and then runs to grab a toy to greet me with.

   As I walk through the door, there is a flurry of fur wrapping in and out and around my feet. Tails wag so hard that the entire body swings back-and-forth in response. And that I need to get through the door and empty my hands for an appropriate greeting can truly not happen fast enough.

Pippa with her heart-shaped birthmark

   With rather extensive travel this past year, it has heightened the response of the Puppy Welcoming Committee. They know what a suitcase is, and they begin to get “Puppy Depression” as soon as a suitcase appears. (Sometimes even my Temple Case bums them out.) They will hop up on the bed and lay down, heads down, forlorn look on their little puppy faces. As I wheel my suitcases toward the Garage, tails wag slowly – almost begging me to not leave.

   Last night, as I returned from another week-long adventure, the familiar noses-at-the-window appeared – jumping up onto the glass to stretch to get a better look, to somehow get closer. Then, as I open the car door, they know to run to the Garage Door – certain that’s where I’ll be heading in a moment or two.

   Puppy enthusiasm is contagious, and within a few minutes I’m in the Living Room – taking a few minutes for Puppy Snuggles and lots of tail-wagging and tummy rubs. Because although I technically live alone, each and every time I return home – whether after a 3-week stretch or just a 5-minute errand, I am always greeted with warmth and happiness.

Sierra