Celebrating the Ordinary – Day Two for Me

I enjoyed writing my earlier post about the towering white pine trees in my own backyard so much I decided to give this challenge thing another go around. Quite a few other bloggers have been participating by writing daily, but for me this is day two even though it’s really day five. Oh well…

Today I’m sharing about who else, the furry four-legged members of my family. It would almost seem like a severe oversight on my part if I didn’t include my pets in this celebration of the ordinary challenge posed by Marie of Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer.

How could I not?

Dogs to me are definitely something to celebrate and appreciate every single day. They are ordinary creatures, but then again, they are anything but.

In a sense, the way dogs live their lives embodies perfectly the concept of celebrating the ordinary.

Dogs take great pleasure in doing ordinary dog things like rolling in the grass, digging in the dirt, devouring all their food really fast and saving none, barking at the neighbors or enjoying an afternoon nap having no knowledge of what guilt even is.

Dogs truly know how to just be.

And of course, dogs don’t worry about tomorrow or any of the things we humans worry about. Dogs are very good reminders to enjoy the present, live in the moment and fret less about the past or the future.

Dogs also represent a special connection to my mother for me. She loved dogs too. While I was growing up, we always had a dog. Despite the fact she kept a pristinely clean house, or tried to, she didn’t mind one bit having dogs in the house as many of my friends’ moms did. I always loved that about my mom. I still do.

Dogs will always remind me of my mom.

As many of you know, the pet menagerie at our house recently expanded to include a member of the feline species. Thanks to daughter we adopted one tiny, but spunky homeless black and white kitty named Ninja.

I’ve since discovered Ninja, too, is a wonderful reminder to appreciate the ordinary yet unique companionship only a cat knows how to give. I never really understood cats before, or why people were so drawn to them, but now I do.

When I opened my heart to Ninja, a whole new world opened up to me. I’m still figuring out the mysteries of living with a cat and all her idiosyncrasies. Notice I didn’t say I’m still figuring out cat ownership; no one “owns” a cat.

You gotta love that about cats, right?

I could go on and on about the various pets in my family and extended family, but the intent of this challenge is to share photos.

So here are a couple photos of my ordinary furry friends who are actually quite extraordinary, or at least they are to me.

Do you have, or have you ever had, a special pet?

What’s something a pet has taught you?

If someone poses a challenge, do you like to take part?