Pure Joy

Love, love, love this picture.

Somewhere along the way we began to set time limits on toys. Toy Time officially ends at 10pm. Jackson has learned what “It’s past Toy Time, Buddy” means, along with “Last time” and “One more time.” The best part is that  he seems to have a sense of when Toy Time should end. Occasionally my husband will try to tell him that Toy Time has ended early, at say 8:30. Jackson knows better and will look at him like he’s stupid. But tonight at 10 o’clock exactly, Jackson stopped bringing me his toy on his own and laid down. My dogs never cease to amaze me.

Umm…. is this really necessary Jack? Not only does he have 3 toys, he is hoarding them by laying on top of them so no one else can have them. When I say Jackson is obsessed with his toys, I do not exaggerate. In this instance Jackson kept all the toys to himself, but often this is not the case. If I am preoccupied (surfing the net, writing, or even sleeping), Jackson will just keep bringing me more and more toys, as though the reason I am not playing with him is due to his toy selection. Hmmm, she doesn’t seem to like the rope toy, what about the squeaky duck? Soon a whole pile will have accumulated around and on me.

Ah, toys… And though a whole basket of toys awaits, the only toy worth having is the toy some else already has. Cheyenne’s greed has overcome her and she is thinking, “If I can’t see her, she must not be there.” Dixie is mid-woof, incessantly carrying on and on until her woofs turn into shrill, desperate barks, insisting that Cheyenne give it back right now. And meanwhile Jack waits in the background, toy at the ready. If there are games with toys, he is not going to miss out. “Hey, maybe you can just throw mine while they sort this out?”

After a day like today at work,  I am even more grateful for my zany little pack and the laughter and love they give so freely and unconditionally. Highlights of my day include:

1. Archie “helping” me make my lunch this morning. He was exasperating me by trying to get in the middle of everything so I gave him a piece of lettuce to occupy him and he began to purr super-loud (we call this purr-cooing) and rub his face on me. He was very excited for this exquisite “treasure.”
2. Dixie stealing my socks as soon as I took them off. The hamper is taller than her and she stood on her hind legs sniffing and circling the hamper trying to reach the exact pair I wore today. Although she could reach the pair I wore yesterday, those were not appealing enough. She began to woof. When I ignored her, she figured out to tug on the clothes that were underneath the socks so the socks fell down, enabling her to carry one around in her mouth and thereby inspiring me to chase her.
3. IO grabbing my wrist with her mouth so gently. So weird and sweet. She does this periodically after really missing you. It is like she is holding your hand in the only way she can.
4. Cheyenne deciding she wanted to play with toys tonight, even though she doesn’t really know how.
5. Seeing Jackson’s face in the window watching for me when I came home tonight.

Of course it wasn’t too long after that that Cheyenne was chasing Baby Titten who was crying about being chased, Jack was whining that I wasn’t throwing his toys fast enough and Archie was running around yowling and IO and Dixie were the only ones not causing trouble… Such is my life. A few minutes of peace or joy closely followed by chaos.

1. Crying.
2. Knocking things over.
3. Knocking things over and then off the counter.
4. And as a last resort–beating up Baby Titten.

We only reached Stage 3 tonight. Then he started mingering around, waiting for me to pick him up. Its possible that this tactic has worked in the past, thereby reinforcing the behavior. And now, Jack is setting toys on the ottoman and giving me the Border collie eye as though by simply staring he can teleport the toy into my hand and make me throw it. If only life were that simple, objects would never be broken, toys would not accumulate on my lap, and Cheyenne would never paw at my face.