"spread love like butter"

My corps members this summer wrote me a funny fake lesson plan before I left Institute that is adorable.

In the guided practice section, it says "Spread love like butter."

On this first day of school here in Seattle, this is what I would like to remind teachers of, to love their kids.

That's all, folks.

the 9th thing: love

I won't make it to the 10 things, but that's okay.

Last Sunday when we went up to look for Wallace, P.J. said, "If this were a Disney movie, he'd run right up to us. Right now."

He didn't. We left.

Holly called yesterday morning to say that Wallace was standing in her driveway, and she called him, but he ran away.

So when we went up yesterday to find him, we went to her address, and knocked on her door, but she didn't answer. Then I turned around, and saw Wallace. Through the trees. Mom couldn't see him, but I walked slowly over, talking softly all the way, and about 20 feet away from him, he ran right to me.

the 8th thing: hope

Hope grows between the cracks in the asphalt... - John Mark McMillan

The 8th thing that happens is that you become amazingly grateful for the people in the world who call about your dog, and you think that there are some pretty great people in the world, after all.

Over the course of this past week, so many people called to tell me they'd seen Wallace, I seriously thought I might have to move to Lake Bosworth, since it's obviously a community where people care about each other...Viola Hudson, who must be about75 years old, called just to let me know that one of our posters was falling down and she'd taped it back up, and she hoped we found him. And Charlie and Peggy called to tell me Wallace was getting into their neighbor's garbage but ran away when they tried to get close to him. And Rod, and Carol, and so many others....I want to send them all thank you notes with hugs inside, just for being great people.

Hope, peeps. That's about hope.

the 7th thing that happens when your dog is lost: peace

is that some of your best friends from college come into town to have sunday breakfast, and as you eat blueberry pancakes together, you are reminded of who you once were and who you will become all at once.

It is a lovely gift, to be able to hang out with people who love you so well.

6 things that happen when your dog is lost

1) You cry a lot. Every day, actually. For a non-cryer, this is kind of a record.

2) You get pissed off WAY more easily than normal. For example, while driving to work, someone cuts you off and instead of your normal one or two expletive laced response, you let loose a string worthy of a 17th century pirate or of that "fuck" scene in the Wire, Season One, with Bunk and McNulty.

3) You eat two bowls of rocky road ice cream every night. Sadly, it doesn't help.

4) k8 asks why you stopped blogging. you say, "I'm wallowing in my effing misery and I don't have anything to write about because I'm so depressed and angry about my dog being gone. " It sounds like a country song.

5) When your girlfriends make you dinner two nights in a row and you drink a bottle of wine both nights, you decide that drinking a bottle of wine every night might be a great lifelong coping strategy. This could technically mean you become a raving alcoholic....

6) You really, really, really, really appreciate the friends who call and say things like, "I'm sorry about Wallace. Are you okay?" Or the friends who write you a card. An actual card. That was mailed. Wow. Also, the ones who call and offer to go looking for him with you or put up signs with you. It shows 1) how great of a person they are and 2) how much they care about you. It is really amazing to have such great friends. All women, I should note. Women, people. Women should run the world. It would be such a better place. On the flip side, because you have temporarily turned into an irrational crazy person, you wonder if the people who aren't calling you really do care about you, and you decide they don't.