Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Puppy Kisses



Life in northeast Iowa can be treacherous in the winter.  Snow begins to melt and changes to ice. You have to be careful. You have to watch where you are walking. It used to be that my winter walking was limited to the treadmill. However, the addition of a beautiful Goldendoodle puppy to our home last summer has changed my winter walking habits. Unless the wind chills are deeply below zero, we walk.

Yesterday, home at a much earlier time from school than I have been for awhile, I decided Chloe and I would venture out. She jumps up, down and around when she sees me put on my "dog walking" coat. We started on the sidewalks, but many of them were still snowy from Saturday night's snowfall, so we moved to the street.  The streets were mostly snow free...

Chloe loves our walks. She prances ahead of me like a Budweiser Clydesdale.  Looking all around, sniffing for whatever walked before us, she keeps a steady pace, but not one I can't keep up with. Me? I'm just enjoying the fresh air and the free time....

We make our turn for home.

I'm not paying as much attention as I should.

Suddenly, I feel my right heel start to slide out from under me. Chloe must have felt it too, because she stopped directly in front of me, looking up as if asking, "What's going on? Can I help?" A stopped dog, a sliding foot, combined for disaster.

I felt myself flying over the dog. My knees landed first, the my face planted in the icy snow bank on the edge of the street, my rear end stuck up and facing the street. Two thoughts in my head. 

"I hope I didn't break my glasses."  And

"Please, don't let anybody be looking out their window right now!"

Puppy kisses greet me as I slowly push myself up and out of the bank. Everything seems to work. The glasses are in one piece and there is no one outside with a video camera. 

We continue trudging toward home...

6 comments:

  1. Thank goodness for puppy kisses! See, everything is ok! (Just like we tell our kids.) But how are you feeling today??? I love the "conversation" you can have with a dog! Great slice.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Michelle

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  2. Oh my! Are you sore yet? What a spill. I think it's tough to write "crash" scenes & you do it so well. I'm printing a copy to store in my writer's notebook as a model.
    Ruth

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  3. Unbelievably, I am fine today. A glass of wine and a warm blanket soothed the owies and the soul.

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  4. Oh sweet puppy kisses!!! Excellent capture of a moment...love the last line about the video camera!

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  5. I enjoyed your description of Chloe just when you were taking her for a walk. I don't love that you fell but I love the way you describe your fall from Chloe's point of view. Hopefully you are okay and Chloe joined you for your wine and warm blanket. :)

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  6. Great job of showing and not telling. Your post is a great example.

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