Empty Boxes

Many, many years ago, a friend made an analogy about personal satisfaction. He said imagine that every person has 1000 emotional boxes that need to be filled each day in order to be satisfied. Some of those boxes are filled by family, some by friends, some by hobbies, some by work, some by lovers, some by pets, etc. One person or one thing in life just isn't enough to fill all the boxes. Only a variety of emotional stimuli can completely fill all the boxes.

It's an analogy that I have been relating to all this time. Personally, I think I have become a more well-rounded person because of it. I dabble in an assortment of activities as anyone who reads this blog can corroborate. Generally, my boxes have been full. That is until my Sydney died.

When she left, felt all of my boxes drain. It was a tidal wave of despair. My grief was as if I had been wrapped in a blanket of painful emptiness. It lasted for several days. Even now, I periodically get choked up and sob.

Knowing that she was deteriorating, we brought Baxter into our family. I thought he would help keep her company and perhaps bring life to her as she did to my previous dog. Baxter didn't do much for Sydney, but he did bring many days of joy and play to Annabelle before she died.

Annabelle died while my husband was visiting family in California. Two dogs in such a short time. Can this place harbor any more negative experiences???

My husband was wrecked by Annabelle's death. He still grieves for her.

With Annabelle gone, we were down to two dogs; Jake and Baxter. Having had three for such a long time, two felt incomplete.

Baxter is a good dog and I love him. Unfortunately, some of my boxes remained empty.

Then, last Sunday, my husband picked me up from work and explained that the little female schnauzer that had been at the pet store for the last 5 weeks was STILL there. That cinched it.

The very next day, we went into the store. I asked for the schnauzer and told the lady to get the paperwork ready, Lucy was coming home. AND, she was coming home wearing a pink collar with bling, bling rhinestones!

She is precious! I LOVE HER!

The next morning, I went to the puppy store and purchased a name tag. Her tag has rhinestones, of course. As the weather has been cold and icy, she had to have a sweater. Pink, naturally. I found the perfect pink sweater for her and it fit her as if it had been specially made for her. As there was no price tag on the sweater, I causally inquired, thinking $18 would be an acceptable price. My guess was no where near the retail price of FIFTY-FOUR DOLLARS!

Well, no way was I going to pay that kind of money for a dog sweater that she will grow out of in 3 weeks. But, ma'am, it's 100% cashmere.

WHAT!?! I don't have a cashmere sweater and the last sweater I bought for myself was less than $20.

So, a bit of bargaining and super shopper points later, Lucy has a pink rhinestone collar with a rhinestone encrusted name tag and a pink cashmere sweater.

Baxter loves her. Jake prefers being left alone. Lucy loves Baxter. My husband loves Lucy.

And the best part of all....my boxes runneth over.


She is soooooo pretty. I just LOVE her!






Trust me, Lucy is very feisty and can easily give as good as she gets. She is top dog in her mind and isn't afraid to put Baxter in his place. She has no problem taking the toys away from him or muscling him away from the food bowl. My lap is the one thing that he claims priority over. So, as long as I snuggle with him and remind him that he is my big boy, he does fine.









Notice the name tag.