Still

Last weekend, Brian and I watched the movie, Marley and Me.  I'd previously seen the movie in the theater, but Brian had never viewed it.

Both times I watched the movie, I thought of our Labrador retriever, Lucy (in her puppy days above).  Even though Lucy and Marley look alike--both being yellow Labs and all--Lucy is not nearly as naughty or neurotic as Marley was.

Lucy doesn't go bonkers when she hears thunder.  She's never chewed through drywall (coax cable, yes; drywall, no).  She's never eaten our couch or any of our jewelry.  And she's never jumped out of a car window.  (Thank goodness!) 

Still, there are days when she tests my patience.  

Like when she drinks out of the toilet, despite her water bowl being full.

Or goes rummaging through the laundry room garbage can, looking for Kleenex to devour.  (I finally got smart a few years ago and bought trash cans with lids for most of the rooms!)

Or rubs her body against our white bath towels. 

Or jumps on people when they come to visit.  (I swear it's her way of saying hello.)
 
Or wakes me up in the middle of the night with her snoring.  (In fact, I think the older she gets, the louder she snores.)

Or barks at everything.  It's particularly annoying in the evenings when Lucy starts barking loudly at a deer up on the hill and I'm trying to put Noah to bed.

Still, for all Lucy's idiosyncrasies, she's been a really good dog.  

Over the past six months, I've been particularly impressed with the way she's interacted with the newest member of our family, Noah.

Lucy loves to lick Noah's hands and feet. 

And Noah clearly likes it because he's all smiles. 

But in the past year or so, Brian and I have noticed Lucy is slowing down a bit.  She doesn't seem to hear as well as she used to.  She can't jump up into the bed of Brian's truck anymore.  She can't chase her ball for as long as she used to.

It's just a fact of life: she's getting older--like the rest of us.

Lucy is eight years old (she'll be nine in November), and I don't know how many more years she has with us.  But I think Noah will help keep her young.  He'll be walking around the house in another six months or so and I'm sure Lucy will want to be right there, by his side, wherever he goes.

And knowing Lucy, she'll probably accidentally knock him down a time or two.

But then she'll lick him and he'll laugh and they'll be buds again.

J