The gap between expectation and reality is disappointment. What makes some gaps more bearable is the company we keep along the way.
We’ve had a rocky couple of months and one more thing just felt like a pile-on. Hey, life happens. Lack of sleep and getting some other projects back on track is why there has been a lapse in posts. In our case it was one of the dogs, Buddy. Because of his relatively young age (only 3) we decided to go the extra mile and see what could be done to address his increasingly bad allergies.
How bad? Meet Buddy, aka Allergy Boy:
Yes, that is a baby t-shirt with the mitten flaps. It was the only way we could keep him from scratching and biting himself. He’d been itching / scratching so much he had sores. Cute as he is with this wardrobe change this is no way for a dog to live. So off for allergy testing we go.
About this time you might be wondering what this has to do with disappointment. Stay with me.
The allergy test results are back and this poor little guys is has more positive hits than pounds. This being our first run in with allergies this severe we are on a steep learning curve.
Some of the more popular items on the list, like corn and rice, won’t be any surprise to other pet parents who have dealt with this issue. A few were a surprise for us, like eggs. Who ever heard of a dog allergic to eggs! Not me for sure.
The most disheartening item on the list? Chicken. In food or in the environment. After a few years of thinking about having chickens, then planning for chickens and even getting ready to build the coop (we literally have lumber ready and the base done) we find out we won’t be able to take that next step.
No chickens in our yard. Disappointment.
One might think after a few years of dreaming about having chickens of my own I would be a lot more upset about this turn of events. I refer back to my opening statement.
What makes the ‘gap’ / disappointment much smaller in this instance is the company along the way. If you knew Buddy (and some of you do), cute as a button and smart as any evil genius, the choice is actually pretty clear.
Remember the old saying about a bird in the hand being worth two in the bush?
Buddy is 11 pounds of mostly fun. He makes us laugh every single day. It makes me smile just to see him running along with his ears flapping and bell ringing. We will keep our ‘bird in the hand’ healthy and happy for all the years of his life we get to share and we hope there are many.
Along with whatever small pang of disappointment there may be I’ll leave those other birds in the land of some day.
P.S. My daughter reminded me that goat isn’t on the list of allergies…(Cute Goats YouTube)
Home Comes Alive 