dogged

Nellie: Gowland Point, Pender Island, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

We spent the day at the beach ..... well a wee bit of the morning and all of the afternoon. One of the many pleasures of beign on holiday is not having to conform to the norms of daily life by the clock, so it was just before noon when we finally rolled into the car en famille. Our destination was Gowland Point, the southernmost tip of South Pender; home to a beautiful shingly beach which we had visited on our last holiday here.


Nellie joined us for lunch .... and behaved impeccably

This year, to the delight of the Wee Guy, we were joined by a friend. Nellie, a young border collie decided to adopt us and train us for the afternoon. She taught us, especially the Wee Guy, to throw sticks for her to fetch. I had completely forgotten what a true joy it is to mix dog and beach together. Not since dear old Toby have we had such a fullbeach experience :)



Seeing the two of them playing together (and Nellie was so good with our little boy) reminded me that kids and dogs can go very well together. Although he's a little young right now, I do see a special dog in our Wee Guy's future. Pets are great way to teach responsibility, biology, life, death and empathy, and they can also fill the void of companionship for a singleton. A dog can be a friend, a confidante, a comfort when all the world is against you, a brother-in-arms, a partner in crime, or even a scapegoat. A dog can be a first love and a first loss.


keeping an eye out for a stick-throwing opportunity

In fact, this evening the Wee Guy did once again berate us for not providing him with a sibling. It's become a frequent event recently, but for matters biological not something we can readily remedy. Although I do understand where he's coming from, I don't think we're doing to badly for him as parents. True, there's no one to deflect the constant two-on-one discipline issues but on the other hand, he doesn't have to share our attention or our finances. We seek out socialisation for him, though I am apparently crap at organising playdates, and provide him with stimulating life experiences (geez, I sound like a crunchy parenting manual). In short, I don't think we do too badly in everything apart from demo'ing our fertility.


with his first canine companion

At my age, a dog would be easier :)