Fleeting
*** Warning: This post contains unabashed sentimentality. ***
My dog Ellie gets most of my affection. With a career that can be stressful, no children and no spouse, she is a bright spot in my life. She is quite old and the beauty that is her life force has convinced me that elderly dogs are just as good, perhaps better than, puppies.
But I have a fun, and costly, development in my life. I am buying a new car after driving a less than reliable vehicle. I have owned my current car for thirteen years. So today I had to prepare to exchange my old car for my new.
I am one of those people for whom a cleaning person would do no good because I would probably clean my home before he/she came over, lest he/she think I am sloppy. So, I not only de-cluttered my car, I also washed, vacuumed, and hung an air freshener in my car. I also cleaned the windows of my car for the first time in many months. Can’t have the mechanics and detailers at the used car lot thinking I am a slob.
As I swabbed the car windows I felt a strange wave of sentimentality. I was washing away Ellie’s nose prints and thinking how quickly everything seems to be changing. I am a realist and realize I won’t be able to live with Ellie for thirteen more years. I wonder how many thousands of nose prints I will wash off of the windows of my new car. I come to the realization that even if I washed off ten million, it still would not be enough. And the resolution I come to, is how lucky we are to have loved ones to shower our love on, be they two or four legged.
What a cute face Ellie has. In the simple act of washing the windows of your car you expressed so well what happens when those paw prints imprint our hearts.
ReplyDeleteYour slice made me think of all the tiny handprints that my children leave on the windows inside my van. The next time I have to scrub down the windows, I'll think of your final thought.
ReplyDeleteShe is absolutely adorable! And, yes, we are lucky!
ReplyDeleteWhat an adorable dog! Enjoy the new car and all of the nose prints that will be on it.
ReplyDeleteLove that Ellie's nose prints inspired this post - love your last line too. Beautiful writing! (and Ellie is adorable!)
ReplyDeleteAww, how sweet. I have an Ellie too. She is a Golden Retriever who thinks she is our baby.
ReplyDeleteShe is so cute!!!!!!!! What a pretty girl. I hope you have millions and millions more nose prints to wash.
ReplyDeleteYou could take a picture of the windshield before cleaning. I wonder what you would find on an image search for "dog nose prints."
ReplyDeleteAnd a long haired red dachshund too! My mother raised them.
PS I'm slicing over at Work and Life
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I loved your disclaimer and also this line, "As I swabbed the car windows I felt a strange wave of sentimentality." Sometimes that happens most in places we don't expect it.
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