Old...

Well, today I came to the realization that I am getting old.  How did I come to that realization, you might ask?  It's a short story, and may not be that interesting.  One of my friends at school recently moved up to the open Dean position (it had been vacated right at the beginning of the school year).  This left his science classes without a science teacher three weeks into the school year.  And so, the search began to find a suitable replacement.  My friend Sandy and I suggested a young man who had student taught in the district last year, and had subbed for me last year. 

Today, Sandy and I met with this young man after school to fill him in on what he would be teaching next week in Anatomy when he took over.  How does this relate to making me feel old?  Because, this young man, was my student my second year of teaching!  I am getting old!  I am very proud of him for pursuing a career as a science teacher, but still, I'm getting old!  It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact that kids I taught way back in the day are now grown ups.  A funny thing though, he's not sure what to call me now that we are co-workers, ha ha.  I told him that I rarely am called by my first name by anyone in the building (it's always been that way & I don't really remember why), so he can just refer to me as "Mahlberg" just like all the other teachers do.

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs...

In our house, we are all about animal rescue.  We have never paid a breeder for one of our dogs.  You may be asking, "how is it that you have a Boxer and a Golden Retriever?"  We got the Chili Dawg, our first Golden (and my heart dog), for free.  One of Ryan's co-workers had a friend who was getting a divorce, and their 2 year old was biting their Golden and they didn't want the dog anymore.  They gave us a dog that they paid almost one thousand dollars (they gave us his papers) for free.  We got Finchy, our Boxer, the same way, only it was a co-worker of mine who had a friend who didn't want their $800 dog anymore and gave him to us for free.

After being owned by both a Golden and a Boxer (notice I didn't say it the other way around), I have to say that there are no other dog breeds that I would rather be owned by.  Yes, I know that mutts are great too (I grew up with an awesome shepherd mix, and my parents and sister have great mixed breed dogs).  However, I will gladly go to a Boxer rescue or a Golden Retriever rescue to get our family another dog when the time arises again.

This year we rescued Buster, a 5 year old overweight Golden Retriever.  I am proud to say that he has lost 15 pounds (of course he isn't happy to be dieting, but really, who likes to diet?).  He has proven to be a good companion for Finchy, who has aged quite a bit since Chili Dawg's cancer (he will be 10 on Halloween).  Buster is a special Golden.  We have had him since March, and he still has not figured out the screen door to the patio.  Every single day he runs into it (seriously- doors are hard for him).  If he could talk, I think he would sound like Doug from the movie Up.  Here's a clip, in case you haven't seen the movie- it is Buster to a "T". 

What he lacks in brains, he makes up for with his heart.  He has the heart of a Golden for sure.  He can sense when I have had a bad day, and he climbs into bed with me and lets me pet him until I fall asleep.  Chili Dawg was able to do that too.

There are people out there that think I'm a "crazy dog person" and I'm okay with that.  I think that dogs are one of the nicest creatures that God created, and I have been blessed to have Him teach me a few lessons through them.  Have you thanked God for your dog today?