Sunday, March 19, 2017

A Dog by Any Other Name

For those who have children, can you connect to the times when you cannot recall the name of your child's friend's parental unit? All you can come up with is "Jack's mom- so nice to see you again!" as you awkwardly run into a fellow mom at the grocery store. Or, "Yes, let's ask Annie's dad if he can help out this weekend", as you plan a school event.
Well, it's quite the same situation in puppy land. I live in a dog friendly condo/apartment community and as the weather warms up (not really, but the sun is out longer) the paths are more puppy populated with dog walking folk.  Ahhh... that uncomfortable moment when you see someone for the first time after the great thaw and want to say hello and all you can pull out of your hat is "Hi! How's Mocha today?" or "Is Sassy loving this warm up?"
As time passes and one makes those connections, you start seeing the humans at the gym or the pool and can only think, "Oh...that's Skylar's mom...that chocolate cocker spaniel. Oh...what was her name again?" And then you proceed with the quick shuffle past her, because really, how awful is it to not remember your neighbor's name, and you hear "Hello there! You're Berkley's mom, right?"

9 comments:

  1. Ha....when immersed in a dog world, you tend to remember the dog's name over the owner's. How true. And a bit awkward.
    http://travelinma.blogspot.com/

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  2. Fun post! Dog people remember the doggies!

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  3. What I hate is when I actually call that person by their dogs name... so awkward!

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  4. Ha, this is so funny! And so true. :-) ~JudyK

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  5. Yes, I can certainly relate to this! Thanks for the smile on this Sunday afternoon.

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  6. Oh, yes, I get it. I have even been known to introduce myself to people I run into in the grocery store. I can tell when they recognize my face but can;t quite place me. I say, I'm the basset hound woman. And yo see the moment when it all clicks. Apparently, without my dogs, I am unremarkable.

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  7. LOL, too funny. I definitely remember the dog's name--and not the person's. I really appreciated the details in this piece.

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  8. I actually do that same thing with my students and their parents. I always remember students names for years but can never think of the names of their parents!

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  9. This is great! I love the way you laid this whole piece out, starting by connecting with parents and then taking us outside the world of your condo where you see 'more humans.' This was so fun to read and the ending was PERFECT! Loved this one!

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