Pink Notes #4: In Memory Of

Mack, Macaroni, Mackadoodle, Wride's Prince Lad of Potomac.

This sweet dog has been in my life for almost 13 years. I basically grew up with him. We got him in 1998, and just this Saturday, January 22, 2011, he passed away. I've had my share of feeling sad and sorry, but I know that he is happier where he is now than he was his last few months. He certainly lived a full and, I like to think, a very happy life. So instead of a post of how sad I am that he will no longer be lying on the carpet in the morning when I leave for seminary, or that he will be sitting on the deck waiting for me to come home from school, I will instead share the sweet and tender memories I have of him.
-This dog loved his snow. I think that's why we got along so well :) When he was young and bouncy he would gallop and prance around in the snow, hence we called him a horse quite often. He loved it when we would throw a ball of snow up in the air and we would jump up and bite it.
-He absolutely hated stairs. And tile floors. And hardwood floors. And the fountain water bowls.
-He loved to drink out of the hose on hot summer days.
-He loved to be outside in the yard, sitting under the big tree out front or in back.
-He was such a good go-for-a-walk dog. When the neighborhood wasn't so developed, we would take him out for walks out in the forest, where we would cross the river, and "the pipe." We would let him off his leash and he would run and run and run.
-He loved the yard in Spain. He had lots of room to run around all day. Many days he wouldn't even come inside at night, he just wanted to be outside. I think those dang stupid magpie birds ruined that for him, eating his food and picking at his hair. Stupid birds.
-Adam and Peter's friends were over a lot during their high school days, and often they would spend the night. One morning, we awoke to Mack's white diamond shaped forehead colored with a purple marker. That poor dog.
-As a little girl, I would talk to him all the time. About my crazy friends (or those who I was fighting with over stupid things. :) ) or whatever. He was a wonderful listener.
-I remember one day when I was about 6 or 7 I decided I would run away from home. Obviously I didn't. But I did make it down the street before my dad and Mack came charging down the street after me.
-I remember coming home from school everyday in 8th grade, walking back from the bus stop, and hearing him bark, and get really excited. He was always so happy to see us come back from trips, too.
-I remember Daniel loooved to look at and pet Mack. Mack LOVED to be pet. Especially behind his ears and on his bum. Strange dog.
-In his later months and days, he would find ANYTHING on the floor, and lay on it. I would be looking for a pair of shoes, my purse, backpack, and of course there he was, laying on them. Sweet guy. He also liked to lay on his blankets. But as a puppy he never really liked his big dog pillow/bed thing.
-As a puppy he chewed lots of things, including shoes, dolls, linoleum floors, etc. Luckily, we were well equipped with lovely rugs to cover the gaping hole in the floor until the tile came. Which Mack did not appreciate.
-In our house in Spain, my room was on the main floor, just back through a small hallway. During thunderstorms, he would make his way back into my room. I think he just loved to be around people. He ended up sleeping in my room pretty frequently. Which I loved, too.
-He was born to herd, and herd is what he tried to do many a times. While on walks, with other dogs, with sledding, he would try and herd us. Crazy how instincts work, huh?
-Along with being a herding dog, boy did he love to bark. He was a very...vocal dog. :) I miss that sound now.
-He would drink lots and lots and lots of water every night while saying the dinner prayer. We conditioned him well, I suppose :)
-Dad loved Mack, and Mack loved him. Those crazy menfolk.

Mack was such a beautiful and strong and handsome dog, I can't imagine what he looks like now, in his glorified state:) As we said our last goodbyes to him, my dad said "Maybe Grandpa will take care of him now."

So Grandpa Rex and Grandma Carol, take care of Mack. We sure love him.

Thanks,Mack, for being such a wonderful dog.

Do You Believe in Magic?

What a week. What a week. So Monday was vocal auditions for the school musical, Oklahoma! It was quite exciting. Although I wasn't all that nervous, surprisingly, which was a fantastic surprise :)! SO Tuesday, we were supposed to have dance auditions, so of course the snow came and spoiled that for us. Wednesday we had a two hour delay and had dance auditions that evening. Thursday was callbacks, woot! And Friday I found out I got the part of Aunt Eller. She's the feisty old woman, who according the Grandma Wride, is the "backbone" of the show. In a way, Eller kind of reminds me of Grandma. So I'm really excited to show grandma what I can do:) She called me and told me that she was envious that I get to do this show, so I better do it well. I love that woman.

Just a small idea of what she's like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBf1Bkk8Gdk

So with rehearsals a plenty in my future, mom and I have decided that I need to make some cuts. Some things are additions that, while they are great and wonderful, I just don't have enough hours in the day to accomplish all that I need to and stay healthy and sane. Especially with college apps still in progress- that's kind of mandatory. But anywho, I just need to decide what it is that is going on hold.

Sweet Pea

So as I'm leading the opening hymn this morning in church, I hear a baby panting? Laughing? Giggling? I'm not sure HOW to explain it, but I sure as anything knew WHO was making that noise: dear sweet John. I look down at my family's row, and John is standing on Marie's lap smiling and laughing/panting at me. Of course my family can't keep a straight face if our lives depended on it, so there's my mom, doing her red faced silent shake (hmmm, it all makes sense now...) Adam trying not to smile, Marie laughing herself, trying to quiet John down and Spencer and Emma provoking him to laugh even more. This cute noise was, of course amplified over all other noises as I tried to find something else to distract me, or I guess regain my focus on the song, but as I looked around the rest of the congregation, I could see several other people also laughing, therefore furthering my inability to keep a straight face. It was really quiet terrible/ hilarious. Man, I love that kid.

Something I learned this week (from our Stake CES Seminary guy, Brother Rose, he's the best.) is that having faith takes risks. We were talking about the parable of the talents and how the one who buried his was afraid of losing it, but that is HOW we lose our talents if we don't use them or share them. I took that very personally because I've been really struggling with decisions about colleges and whatnot, and especially whether I should audition for the music therapy program at Utah State, but I know that it won't hurt anything (besides my pride:)) if I DO try out, and it can lead to so many wonderful things if I make it. Faith means taking risks. Nothing good will happen if you never try.

New Shoes

Happy New Year! 2011, whaaaaaat? You mean the year I GRADUATE from high school? Whaaat?! I'm so flippin' excited. I'm pumped for this year and I can't wait to see where it leads! Who knows where I'll be in the summer/fall. Heck if I know! But anywho, I am excited to start anew. I find it a little funny, though, that with the tick of a clock, everyone's mindset changes- that it is time to change! The flaws and quirks you don't like will disappear at the stroke of midnight with the wave of the magic new years eve fairy's wand. Sheesh, I wish it happened like that! But it is refreshing. And today it rained- there is nothing more refreshing in my mind than a good rainstorm. It's not too cold outside, either. Snow sticks around and lingers and gets on people's nerves. Rain (in VA, at least) comes and goes rather quickly and leaves a calm and refreshed look and feel and smell about the earth. Especially the sky. Have you ever seen the sky after rain? The blue and white colors peeking out from behind that dark gray blanket? Oh Hallo, it's pretty.

Anyways, I had a pretty marvelous Christmas. Since none but one of my siblings were around, it was pretty quiet. So we joined in for festivities at the Cummings household. Oh, how I will be forever grateful for the memory of that incredibly stylish and talented bag-pipping Brother Cummings. Yes folks, he was decked out in a kilt and rabbit thingy with long socks while playing his bag-pipe. Highlight of the night. Then my uncle and aunt and two of my cousins from CALI came, and we had a blast with them! They did lots of sightseeing and we drove up to NY for a 24-hr stay, and saw lots of the sights. And we almost died of frostbite, nbd. No big deal, mom (it was her idea to sit on the unheated open air city tour bus for three hours. I'm not holding a grudge. :) But we had lots of fun times. Imma miss them!

I bought a new pair of shoes. Two actually. And I'm excited about them. nothin fancy. Just fun. But that inspired the title- plus I like the song.