Have you seen this bumper sticker? I never had until yesterday and then I saw it again today.

LOVE IT!!!

I haven’t owned a dog since I was a kid so it’s not about loving dogs, but I just thought this bumper sticker was so right on.  Especially now that a lot of people are freaked out about the uncertainty of their financial futures which can cause touchy tempers to flare.  Personally, it reminds me about my kids.  I am often a barker.  I yell to be heard (after 3 or more times of asking or saying something patiently!) And I wish I were more like my husband because he will often try playfulness and humor (wagging) before yelling (barking).

Recently, Mark coined the phrase “Craughing”.  It’s the state where one of my children who is determined to be in tears, is refocused during their crisis  by tickling or teasing until they are laughing while crying, otherwise known as ‘craughing’.  Brilliant!  

Just the other night, I was getting hooked into the drama being dished out by my youngest as he refused to spell ‘breakFAST’ as it is in the English dictionary because it sounds like ‘breakFIST’. (At least in New Jersey it’s pronounced that way.)  I tried to walk away from the drama several times, but he would not disengage from his crisis long enough to hear me say we could skip that sentence.  Enter my husband who lunges at Wyatt and says: “Are we craughing?  Are we craughing?” and in seconds, my son was craughing. Just like that! Damn, why didn’t I think of that?!!!!

Think of a dog waggin–just happy, just flapping its tail in excitement for whatever reason. Not a bad way to be.  A lot of people think dogs are dumb, but maybe there’s more to a dog’s life than what people usually pine over.  (naps, getting fed, being cared for)  Dogs are the bearers of unconditional love and they wag in excitement over the people they meet, the food they eat and the flurry of a passing bird or falling leaf.  That’s bliss.  Don’t we all want more of that?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not comparing my husband to a dog.  But he does have more wag than I do. One of the aspects of our journey together has certainly been teaching me to have more fun.  So, while I challenge myself to WAG more, I ask you to do the same.

Wag More; Bark Less!!

Tags: Bark less, bliss, dog, dogs, homework struggles, husbands, Unconditional love, Wag More, Yelling, yelling at kids

This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 1:49 pm and is filed under Kids, Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.