Enjoying the Gift of Rex

In honor of National Love Your Pet Day, I am posting this essay I wrote several months back.  I love our dog Rex!

7/15/15

It's amazing how much joy a dog can bring to a family.  Tonight my daughter was having a bad evening, but found peace and calm lying in bed backwards next to the dog.  There is something about resting and stroking a dog's fur that can make someone relax.

Rex does not have a fancy pedigree, and he did not come from a pet store.  We found him on the side of the road, and he was perfect since we met him.  He slept all night without whining that first night in the crate, and he learned to potty train very quickly.  He did not dig, and he does not bark much, other than at appropriate things outside our front door or on the other side of the fence.  He has a "big dog bark" but he is actually a sweet dog that acts more like a baby.  He is happy to see us, and loves to get us exercise by taking us for a walk.  He is a true joy.  He is our Rex.  And tonight he is helping my daughter get to sleep.

"Good boy, Rex.  Good boy." 

The Taste of Love in Pink Pancakes

This year I took advantage of the fact that Valentine’s Day was on Sunday, and I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  To add an extra Valentine’s Day flare, I added red food coloring to the pancake mix.  The result was pretty pink pancakes.

Of course the pancakes did not taste any different, nor did they have any difference from regular pancakes in nutritional value or texture.  I used the same box mix as usual, and did not change any additive ingredients.  But somehow these pancakes seemed to taste better to my kids, simply because they were pink.  My daughter said it best when she said she could “taste love in the pancakes.” 

This reminded us of the song by Chris Rice called “Smell the Color Nine,” where he reminds us that trying to figure out the mysteries of God is like trying to “smell the color nine.”  Of course “nine’s not a color, and even it if was you can’t smell a color.”  Similarly, no one can really “taste love.”  But on this Valentine’s Day my kids knew love was there simply by the extra effort expended to make the day special.

There are many who cringe at the commercialization of the Valentine’s Day holiday and feel there is sometimes too much expense and materialism attached to February 14^th.  In many ways I agree.  Yet on this Valentine’s Day the cost of food coloring was just pennies, and the rewards were great.  Sometimes these little things we do for our loved ones can make a big difference.

So whether you “believe” in Valentine’s Day or not, I hope you will make the effort to help the loved ones in your life feel special from time to time.  Go the extra mile, do an extra service, buy an extra gift, or do whatever you feel is important.  Sometimes these things don’t cost too much money or time, like adding red food coloring to a favorite breakfast meal.  It was just enough for my family to “taste the love in it,” and it was well worth the effort.