(no subject)
We had a Family Fun Day for Andrew's division group of overworked SOBs in uniforms today. In my continuing quest to get Guinness as bomb-proof as possible, he came along. The only woof the whole day was when he got surprised by a woman walking up behind him to use the trash can; more my fault than his, but something to work on. Guinness is also resistant to walking slowly, at the family pace. When I'm holding him and Andrew has the handlebars on the chair, I end up feeling like the rope in a game of tug-of-war. Guinness knows his job is to pull me, and he prefers working with momentum to going slowly. I've been working with him on slowing his pace, and it has dropped quite a bit. It's just not down to the "slow amble" of a lazy walk. The most fun Guinness had was when we were going back to the car and I let him stretch out a bit, although I think helping the kids clean their plates of some really yummy BBQ was a close second.
The kids are old enough now that they pretty much got to do what they wanted. They both requested some songs from the DJ--somehow I don't think she's used to 9-year-olds requesting Mambo #5. There was much playing on the swings and the bounce-house and a bit of line-dancing involved. Ro got to ride a pony, so she got a small horse-fix, and they both spent some time feeding the critters in the petting zoo. It makes me absurdly happy that my kids can tell the difference between llamas and alpacas on sight. Yes, I'm a geek; we already established this.
Andrew found the "other" advantage to having a service dog, as the two-star in charge of the area (read, the most important dude on base from our perspective) came over to chat. He was astonished Guinness was a Doberhorse. He'd never seen a Dobie without the cropped ears and tail, and his wife commented on how much friendlier an appearance Guinness has than the traditional Disney evil Dobermans. They laughed when I said if anyone in the family is getting cosmetic surgery it's going to be me, not the dog. Guinness was an absolute sweetheart (I still think "say hi" is the best command I've taught the dog). So now Andrew has some pleasant face time with the Big Guy, which is always a good thing. I don't know what it is about a vest on a dog, it just seems to draw people in. Andrew is hoping that someday he can train Guinness to be a good chick magnet, when he's not needed as a service dog any more.
I just wish I could go to an event like this without being so damn tired afterwards. We were only there for a couple of hours, I was in my chair the whole time (only got stuck in the sand once, w00t!), and it's frustrating that such a small amount of effort is enough to send me to bed for the rest of the day. But hey, I've got kids and a hubby who're willing to bring me drinks, I've got my chair for when I need to get around, and I've got a big fuzzball curled up next to me in bed. Life is good.
The kids are old enough now that they pretty much got to do what they wanted. They both requested some songs from the DJ--somehow I don't think she's used to 9-year-olds requesting Mambo #5. There was much playing on the swings and the bounce-house and a bit of line-dancing involved. Ro got to ride a pony, so she got a small horse-fix, and they both spent some time feeding the critters in the petting zoo. It makes me absurdly happy that my kids can tell the difference between llamas and alpacas on sight. Yes, I'm a geek; we already established this.
Andrew found the "other" advantage to having a service dog, as the two-star in charge of the area (read, the most important dude on base from our perspective) came over to chat. He was astonished Guinness was a Doberhorse. He'd never seen a Dobie without the cropped ears and tail, and his wife commented on how much friendlier an appearance Guinness has than the traditional Disney evil Dobermans. They laughed when I said if anyone in the family is getting cosmetic surgery it's going to be me, not the dog. Guinness was an absolute sweetheart (I still think "say hi" is the best command I've taught the dog). So now Andrew has some pleasant face time with the Big Guy, which is always a good thing. I don't know what it is about a vest on a dog, it just seems to draw people in. Andrew is hoping that someday he can train Guinness to be a good chick magnet, when he's not needed as a service dog any more.
I just wish I could go to an event like this without being so damn tired afterwards. We were only there for a couple of hours, I was in my chair the whole time (only got stuck in the sand once, w00t!), and it's frustrating that such a small amount of effort is enough to send me to bed for the rest of the day. But hey, I've got kids and a hubby who're willing to bring me drinks, I've got my chair for when I need to get around, and I've got a big fuzzball curled up next to me in bed. Life is good.