One month shy of her second birthday, Goofy has finally graduated from “basics” in her daycare training sessions.
There’s no mention of age in the task descriptions but the accompanying photo of a cute puppy doing a high five gives an indication of the sort of age group they’re expecting to be dealing with in the basics class.
This developmental delay is not all due to the powerful cocker spaniel dimwit genes outmanoeuvring the poodle intellectual capacity, it’s also stubbornness on my part. I could never see the usefulness of a dog being able to twirl and spin. However, I finally succumbed and allowed the in-house trainer to have at it, by which I mean, my enthusiastic offspring currently living at home agreed to help out. So, it was team effort. (No it wasn’t) Now we just need to figure out what the intermediate tasks are, one of which she has apparently already mastered.
Another milestone is a more personal one – it’s been five years since I started this blog, as Facebook reminded me yesterday. I think I posted my first, introductory post on facebook way back when it wasn’t widely understood to be Mark Zuckerberg’s evil power-hungry ethically-challenged empire. I must say I’m pleased that I didn’t ever need to make any money out of it, because without the socials it’s really remained a very amateur, niche, and widely unread affair. (Nothing to do with the quality of the content, as I’m sure you will agree – although you may be biased, as a close friend or family member).
A colleague that doesn’t even read this blog said to me today that she thinks I should write a book. (Not sure if the “even” belongs in that sentence). But I can’t see myself ever doing so. I think this blog has acted like a kind of vaccination against the need to produce a novel. Am I comparing this blog to the cowpox? I suppose I am. Anyway, it satisfies the itch without requiring too much sacrifice on my part, so I am quite content.