Perpetual Ruminations

Thursday

Thursday, my last day off together with Rhonda for a while. I'm not sure how long, but until we get someone hired, trained, and scheduled, Rhonda and I will work longer hours and have our days off opposite each other. Depending how one certain guard shapes up, even then we may not get our days off together. We would have shorter hours again, but still work each others days off. Hopefully he get's his shit together and shapes up. The only other choice is to hire two more guards so we have coverage to take our days off together. This would be ideal for Rhonda and I, we would be able to schedule our hours right where we want them, get our days off together, and supply a couple of people with part-time jobs. The only down side is the person I mentioned wants as many hours as he can get, and it would be his hours I would slash to create hours for another person. But, that's his choice, do the job right and get the hours he wants, or do it wrong and lose them.

But, that's enough thoughts on work for this person, today. I have a beautiful day here in South Dakota, the sun is shining, there's a nice steady breeze, and the temperature is eighty degrees outside. It's a quarter to noon here, and Rhonda and I have enjoyed a nice morning together. We slept in till about nine, then had coffee on the patio, enjoying the various birds singing in chorus as we watched them fly around the yard and come in to feed, while filling our olfactory with the beautiful scent of freshly bloomed lilacs. Of course, I had to pick a couple of bunches and put in a vase for Rhonda. I added a tough of bright yellow to counter the deep purple and green by picking a few dandelions and placing them among the lilacs. She loves little gestures like this as much as I love providing them. In years past I would have done the same for my dear mother, who now enjoys the beautiful lilacs in paradise, and one day, I will be able to share the lilacs and all the other wonders of paradise with both of these special ladies. For now, I'm just glad Rhonda is the type of woman who appreciates the little things in life as much as I do.

After our coffee, we came in and got a start to our day. I had to create a recovery drive for my netbook and Rhonda did some logging online. Then she started some laundry and we enjoyed a bowl of cereal together. After, she was going to move on to some other tasks that need attention, but I had had enough of watching her all morning and could not resist the desire she filled me with. I waited until she made a trip to the bedroom to put some cloths away and then I made my move.

With passionate stealth I captured her and silenced her with kisses, then disabled her fight with caresses over her shoulders and back as I kissed her neck and gently nibbled her ears. All the while she was distracted by my kissing and nibbling I moved her back to the bed until it caught her behind the knees and down she went. I didn't hesitate, but covered her body with my own, pinning her in place as I kissed her sweet lips. Now, my hands were free to remove her sweatpants and caress over her exposed skin. She never had an opportunity to resits as I passionately caressed and kissed her, then removed my own cloths. In minutes we lost ourselves to our passion and took a little time to enjoy some before noon delights. I know, it's suppose to be afternoon delight, but this was before noon and it was very delightful.

I had thought of just teasing her along for the day, then tonight we could let our passion explode, but I have to work tomorrow, so the alarm will be playing reveille at three in the morning. That means we should try to get to bed early tonight. Since time has a habit of slipping past too fast, this could result in no time for loving each other later, or writing this entry, or much of anything. I have learned this the hard way and since this woman is the love of my life, my soul-mate, and my best friend, I didn't want the opportunity to share some of out wonderful passion to pass by. It's like my grandmother used to say, "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Of course, this was don't put off till later what can be done now, but still the same idea. And, I don't think my grandma had this concept in mind when she used the phrase.

So, we enjoyed an interlude of loving passion then it was back to the tasks at hand. We are planning an outing to the park this afternoon, to enjoy the scenery, the quiet, and to share a picnic together. Hyko loves to join us on our outings to the park and Hannah has never had the chance, so this will not only be our first outing for the season, but our first with Hannah along. The park we are going to has a nice lake, so the two dogs, although they would disagree with the term, will get a chance to enjoy the water, too. Hyko loves the water, being full Golden Retriever, and Hannah should being half Lab and half Spaniel.

He, Hyko, is our golden boy and has a heart of gold. Hannah is the latest member of our family; she joined us shortly after our golden girl passed away. Hannah was about two years old and had never lived a life outside the pound. It's not just a dog pound but an animal shelter as well. She had been taken out a few times by various families, but being such a high spirited young pup, she would get into trouble and be brought back in a day or two. Of course, no body ever took the time to work with her, they wanted a pet that was already to just bring home and act the way they thought fitting. So, untrained and rejected she lived most of her days in a small pen and was about to be put down because of her age.

We did not know the story behind her when we got her, we just knew that Klarissa had left us all with a big empty spot and Hyko was not interested in life with her. He had never known life without her by his side since he was adopted at six weeks old. We had intended to get Rhonda a dog of her own, since I had Klarissa, but she, Klarissa, had other plans. She was about two when Hyko joined us, and from the moment we put him down on the floor, Klarissa claimed him for her own.

We had gone to the pound to look and see if they had any canines that would possibly help him keep a purpose in life. Hyko has always been a very compassionate animal, and even assisted in caring for the puppies he and Klarissa had. We thought if we brought home a puppy, maybe he would claim it as his own and it would give him purpose. Instead of a puppy we found Hannah, and something just clicked. We paid her dues and she was turned over to us, with three days to decide if we wanted to keep her or return her. I never believed in this policy, since the poor dog would never be able to understand why it's getting put back into this miserable life after a few days of having a real life. That's when I learned the sad story of Hannah's past.

She came home with us, and of course she had a few unwanted traits. After all, she had never been worked with or trained at all. She was fast to learn, and in a day learned to sit, to come to her name, to interact with us, and to understand what no meant. It wasn't difficult, all she had to do was hear disappointment in my voice and she understood she had done something undesired. Most of her behavior wasn't bad, but I know a lot of people don't like their dogs to get on the furniture or on their laps. I never minded, since the dogs were never as hard on the furniture as the kids, and I kind of enjoy the compassion of an animal wanting to be close and snuggle on my lap. No, Hannah really was a very well behaved dog, especially since she had never been worked with. She did like to run, but we kept her leashed and walked her around her new yard until she learned the boundaries. She has wondered off a couple of times to play with kids or to walk with people passing by, but she returns when called and a scolding solved the problem. Only once did I have to go get her, and that was because she was so involved with a couple of kids down the block that she didn't even notice me until I was right there.

The biggest problems with this young dog weren't her having bad behavior, it was that she did not know how to behave like a pet. She had no idea what treats were, or toys, she didn't know how to play with us or with Hyko, and anytime she was scolded, she would be so sad, knowing from her past that now she would be returned to the pound. It took a long time to get her to understand that this was her home, and she would never have to fear returning to the pound.

But, now I have gotten off on a whole different subject. The one at hand is to get this written beforehand so we can go to the park and if it get's late on us, I will have this entry made. I'm looking forward to an enjoyable afternoon with my wonderful wife and our two wonderful canines. I'm especially eager to share this new experience with Hannah, she has never got to go on a picnic or to a lake. I think she will enjoy it as much as Hyko, and I'm sure he will "teach" her just how to enjoy the park and the water.