Farewell to Lucy; Hello, Bonnie

We were heartbroken to lose Lucy from cancer at the end of January. How we miss this sweet, happy, loyal dog that we enjoyed and loved for 11 years. See 
https://sallyosmusings.blogspot.com/2011/10/fishing-trip-observation.html for a story about this girl.

Sweet Lucy, on one of our last outings with her

We found her like this one day after she got into the garbage!

When David was in the hospital for his stroke, she sensed something was wrong

Shortly afterward, David felt that he needed a new companion. “Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “I love being with you, but I need a dog, too.” So we went looking. And found this sweet girl at the animal shelter. They had given her the name “Bonnie” and since we couldn’t come up with anything better, Bonnie she is! We sometimes wish we knew what her original name was and what her back story is.

Bonnie is a strong, energetic two-year-old black lab, and we are adjusting to a young dog again. Sweet and well-behaved in the house, she knows all her commands and gives David lots and lots of attention and affection. If he sneezes, she’s right there. If he coughs, she’s right there. If the phone rings, you guessed it; she’s right there. She even lays in the doorway of his bathroom, waiting for him.

Outside, however, is another matter! She gets distracted by squirrels (and birds and butterflies, other dogs, and cars) and loves to run at will, forgetting her name and training.

A couple of examples from the last three months: early on, we took her for a walk to the local park and let her off her leash so she could run for a few minutes. Off she went after a squirrel, and we lost sight of her. We were worried! But there she was, waiting for us at home. Later that day, I saw this post on the neighborhood Facebook page with the following comments:

1. Young black lab dragging blue leash, red tags. Couldn't get my hands on him to look around 12:30 Rosewood Park. 

Said one: Oh man. Labs gonna lab. Hope he finds his humans

And another: tattletale! She was celebrating being a free woman!

And another: Glad she made it home, but boy, does she look happy!

She does love to run! And climb fences, some six feet high! 

Another story: One day she was running lose, chasing a squirrel about 10 feet in front of us, when it ran up a tree. Before we knew it, we could see a black, wagging tail going up the tree trunk! Unfortunately I didn’t have my phone with me, but imagine a 60-pound black lab staring down at us from about 5 to 6 feet up a tree! Hilarious! But then, she discovered she didn’t know how to get down. So David pulled her out of the tree using her leash. We see her stop and look at trees every once in a while and know she’s thinking about climbing up, but then she decides against it and walks away.

The tree Bonnie climbed up; imagine a 60-pound black lab staring down!

We struggle with keeping her in the yard (she jumps the fence with ease), so we have to keep her on a long rope that goes the length and width of the yard. And, on occasion, she darts out of an open door, leading us on a chase up and down the street. Our neighbors have been kind and understanding about her running. And we’ve learned that if we (or our neighbors) open a car door, she’ll jump right in!

In addition to a rope and keeping her on her leash most of the time, we’ve tried a shock collar (failed completely) and now have a choke collar on her that works to keep her under control. 

Please understand: we would really like to let her run free in the yard, but for her safety, as well as for the safety of others, we can’t let her off the rope at this time. We try to remember that she still is a puppy in a lot of ways, and we hope that as she matures, ropes and a choke collar won’t be necessary to keep her safe. We expect to enjoy her for years to come.

I wonder, during this time of social distancing and mask wearing, how often we feel like Bonnie? Yearning to run free without restraint, putting ourselves and others at risk?

I recently came across an address on this subject from 1999 by President James E. Faust, then of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that still rings true. The whole talk is worth reading, but here are some important thoughts from it on the subject of obedience.

He said, “Being bridled, or yielding obediently to restraint, is necessary for our personal growth and progression. Recently a nationally broadcast program talked about wild horses that are being tamed by prisoners. As the prisoners formed friendships with the horses, they learn about patience, controlling tempers, respect for others, and the value of working within a system. As they watched the horses learn to be obedient to their commands, they realized how they could have avoided the terrible mistakes that had put them in prison. I add that obedience to righteous principles would have offered them freedom from social diseases, shame, degradation, and feelings of guilt. Like the horses, they could still learn, progress, and achieve.

"We hear many persuasive voices demanding freedom from restrictions, particularly from moral restraints. However, we learn from the history of the earth that any successful society had had boundaries."
And he added, "When obedience becomes our goal, it is no longer an irritation; instead of a stumbling block, it becomes a building block."

We try to keep Bonnie restrained in order to keep her safe from harm so that she can live a long, healthy, happy life. And so it is with us, too. When we learn to be obedient, we can find joy and true freedom to move forward in our lives.

On Rough Waters and Smooth

We had an interesting fall!
Shortly after I wrote last in September, we had a leak in the roof that caused part of my bedroom ceiling to collapse! It turned out that a seal on a pipe leading from the house to the swamp cooler had broken off, causing it to leak. Unfortunately, the insurance company was far less than helpful, and, in fact, added to the stress and frustration.... They said they wouldn't repair the roof because it was caused by wear and tear not covered in the policy. And they were only willing to do a patch job on the ceiling, insisting that they would not remove the old "popcorn" ceiling and that it could be an asbestos problem. In the end it wasn't a problem, but they left me hanging for 3 long days not knowing if we were breathing in poison or not. I told them to close the claim. So not impressed!

We were in the middle of that crisis when we discovered leaking pipes in the kitchen, which meant that we needed to re-pipe the house! The pipes were cast iron and original to the house built in 1955. They definitely needed replacing.
All this happened while I was dealing with the aftermath of a minor concussion caused when I slipped off a stepladder while camping at the end of August!

We were in the middle of getting new pipes in the house (and figuring out how to pay for them) when Katie got married the first weekend of October, and Brittany and her family moved into a beautiful new house.

We took a trip to the Grand Canyon in October for some much needed R&R. It was beautiful and restoring to the soul.

Montezuma Castle, Arizona.

At Snow Canyon, Utah. A graphic reminder that we can grow in adversity

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Shortly after our trip to the Grand Canyon I came down with an ear (and sinus) infection that caused my eardrum to rupture. That was a new exercise in pain... It turned out the infections were caused by the drug-resistant MRSA bacteria. I'm on the mend, but my hearing is still a little off and probably will be for some time.
Through it all, David was calm and supportive while I fell apart. I used to wonder how he would do if  I were to be incapacitated. The answer: He came through it all with flying colors. I am so grateful!
Can we say we had a stressful season?!
Not all stress is bad. In fact, we need some in our lives. Stress and trials are what can help us grow, learn important lessons, and develop into better people.

One of my favorite quotes on the topic came from President Spencer W. Kimball who knew a lot about trials.

I came across the talk, "Tragedy or Destiny" when I was a young, largely untried college student. It made such an impression on me that I often thought about it during the various struggles of my adult life.
Said he: "If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the pre-mortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

"Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?
"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.
"If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.
"Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood."

There's a great deal of wisdom there! The Apostle Paul who was also well acquainted with trials taught: "For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
"While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (KJV 2 Corinthians 4:15–18).

It helps to remember, during times of stress, that trials don't last forever, even when it may seem like it.
When I complained to my older brother about my old house blues, he reminded me that we all have troubles that are a part of life for us to learn from. He compared it to river rafting: sometimes the water is calm and smooth, and sometimes there are rough water and rapids. When we come to the rapids, it helps to know that the calm water is just around the bend.

Rafting on the Salmon River. Notice the rapids!

This particular rapid felt like a class 5, but it reality it was probably more like a class 3 rapid. The trick is to hang on and ride it out! (I can say that now that the crisis has passed...!)
I saw this on Facebook when we were dealing with a leaking roof, a broken ceiling, and the insurance company that was far less than wonderful to deal with:

Don't forget that you're human.It's okay to have a melt down.

Just don't unpack and live there.

Cry it out and then refocus on where you are headed.

And this gem, also found on Facebook that same week, helped keep it all in perspective:

Life is Amazing   and then it's awful.  

And then it's amazing again. 

And in between the amazing and the awful, It's ordinary and mundane and routine. Breath in the amazing 

Hold on through the awful and 

Relax and exhale during the ordinary. 

That's just living. Heart breaking, soul-healing, amazing, ordinary life.

And so it is! Finally, after 4 months of looking at a hole in my ceiling, the leak in the roof is finally fixed (it only took 5 tries, including 3 from a roofing contractor). And soon I will have a new ceiling and refinished wood floor. Cannot wait! :)

The lovely hole in my ceiling, soon to be just a memory

Life is looking better!