Keeping in Touch

At six months, our girl seems to be mellowing just a tad. And she seems to be consolidating her priorities. We have our well-documented (or at least regularly documented) routines. Up early for potty and breakfast. Walk at first light. A bit of play and training here and there. Another walk before last light (ideally), and, almost always, some evening floor-time with some sort of lovin’.

She’s pretty mellow about most things, honestly. She waits quietly to be let out of the kennel in the morning, and when I let her out, she stretches, wags her body once or twice, utters a happy sound or two, and gets to the day’s routine. And she kind of gets that when I’m on the computer she needs to entertain herself. But she makes her demands, too.

I thought about riffing a bit about her handshakes (not a trick to perform), especially after listening to this fun interview with Ella Al-Shamahi, author of The Handshake: A Gripping History, (spoiler alert that Covid will not kill the handshake), but I thought to mark Cedar’s six months it might be better to just note her unique take on touch.

If you spend a little time with Cedar, you’ll see how she uses her paws, whether to reach out and invite you to play, or to hold something while she chews it, or, lately, just to keep a point of contact while she’s doing something else. (Last night, I let her up in bed while I was reading. She stretched her full length, tummy down, across the bed, but made sure her chin was on my feet.) Lately, she’s been chewing a bone at my feet with one paw keeping contact, and keeping my foot right there.

I’m not sure she’s wild about being petted. She certainly doesn’t sidle in for more. And she’s more interested in attacking the brush than being groomed. A friend recently joked, “Give Cedar a shove for me.” She’d like that, I know. (She’ll often seek the pressure of my knees against the cabinets as I’m preparing food in the kitchen.)

This morning, in a week where I’ve had reunion Zooms with colleagues and former students from 30 years ago, I’m thinking about the dual meaning of keeping in touch. It’s lovely to stay connected or to get reconnected via our wild modern technologies, and even more lovely when we can sneak in a handshake or a hug. I guess Cedar’s keepin’ it real for me–when there’s no hugs or handshakes to be had, a paw whack, a shove, or a heavy chin on my feet ain’t nothin’.

Keep in touch, eh?

(Speaking of keeping in touch, did you know you can sign up for email notifications for this drivel? You can’t see it from your phone, but there is a “subscribe” box at right, when you view in a web browser. Let me know via mr.t.mck@gmail.com if you need help.)