Meeset Girl, and Trouble With Maggie and Our Garage

Joshua has had a good week at Therapeutic Recreation. The FRIENDS were all so excited about today's potluck...they could hardly stand it!

Joshua told me how the "yoga lady" came Wednesday morning and how, when one of the FRIENDS bent over to do one of the exercises, Joshua "saw his undies." And how that FRIEND should really be more careful because no one wants to see THAT.

And that, after lunch, they divided up into groups and got to work moving things around and decorating for the potluck. Being the big, strong, power-lifter that he is, he had to help move tables and chairs. He said that in his group with him was "Julia, Michael, Crystal, Steph...and the medium-set girl."

He has heard people refer to others as "heavy-set." In his mind, that means "fat," and he knows it's not nice to call anyone FAT. So, he came up with his own term for someone who is a little bigger (chubbier, fluffier)...it's "medium-set." 

And, plus, he doesn't know the "medium-set" girl's name, even tho she's been coming since September.

The way he says it and runs it together, it sounds more like "meeset" girl.

It was not surprising to me that the meeset girl was in his group, becaaaauuuussssseee...she's "meeset." And they needed some of her muscles to move all that stuff around!

This morning, before we left for Little Rock, Joshua came to tell me there was a "stranger at the door." He knows not to open the door to anyone.

I don't trust this 100%, because even tho I have drilled it into him since he was very little, I have not gotten over the time several years ago when I walked out of my bedroom to find a man standing in our living room talking to Joshua. He was dressed like a policeman, but he was most definitely NOT a policeman. He was more like a "village people" policeman, and he was selling his CD's door-to-door.

And that's pretty much how Marty died.

Except that I couldn't really die because I had to get that man out of my house.

ANYWAY, back to today, by the time I got up front to look, no one was there...but I saw our neighbor-man going into his house across the street. And I thought, "well, that's weird." And then I thought, "hmmmmm..." and I opened the door to the garage, and there was our big, black Lab, Maggy...and I could just tell by the happy way she was wagging her tail, she had been on an adventure. And because THE GARAGE DOOR WAS WIDE OPEN.

We keep our garage door closed ALWAYS, because we've known people who come home for lunch or whatever, and leave their door up, and when they come out, their bikes/tool-boxes/4-wheelers are gone!

We've been having trouble with one of our garage doors. We think one of our neighbors has our same code...OR that someone is going through the neighborhood pushing a remote and just seeing if any doors open...OR our garage is just jacked up.

I'll take "C...all of the above."

I don't even know. All I DO know is that I want it fixed. I do not want to be in bed at night, wondering if the garage door is going to randomly pop up. Jim has been working on it and for the past few weeks, the box where you push the button to open that particular garage door...has been hanging away from the wall...wires exposed and everything.

Ghetto fabulous.

ANYWAY, I'm guessing that our neighbor was returning Maggie to us...and I'm HOPING Maggie wasn't across the street at their house...and I'm PRAYING that, if she was, she didn't LEAVE ANYTHING in their yard.

But I've got a feelin' (oooo-oooo).

Jim and I are the ones putting Maggie in the garage. Even tho she's a Lab and pretty much enjoys this cold weather, it's been in the teens and low-20's at night, so we've been letting Maggie stay in the garage during the night. Now she's wanting to stay in the garage all the time. So we put her out in the yard every morning and feed her...and let her outside to run around and potty and just "be a dog," but she starts scratching on the door until we let her in. She's got to walk through our nice, warm house to get to the garage...I think she is starting to get wise to the fact that we don't all live outside.

She's pretty smart.

Which is why I'm not totally convinced that she didn't just get up on her back legs and punch the garage door opener herOWNself...and go in search of someone who would let her into their house.

I'm highly allergic to dogs, which is why she is an outside dog.

That, and the fact that she weighs 90 pounds and sheds like the dickens and when she wags her tail, it takes out the lamps and all the pretties on the end-tables.

But I told her that I we were just trying to help her stay warm, and that when we put her in the garage, she needs to stay there.

I've laughed so hard as I've read Melanie's struggles and adventures with her two puppies. I'm laughing WITH, not AT...because I've been there. Until Jake-the-good-dog died, we'd always had two dogs. And they were double-trouble and got into a ton of messes!

I got tickled at one person who commented to tell Melanie that SHE is the master of the dogs, not the other way around...and that as soon as she made that clear to the puppies, the happier she would be.

So, I took that advice to heart. I sat Maggie down and just told her, "I am the boss of you...NOT the other way around." Maggie groaned and started scratching her back. I said, "I'M NOT KIDDING." She just looked at me and yawned real big. I said, "you need to quit scratching on the back door, because you are taking off all the paint. You are a dog. You are covered in thick, warm fur. You have a nice bed and plenty of food. If it gets too cold, we will put you in the garage...but it's not gonna be an every day occurrence...you got it?" She put her right paw on my leg. I said, "thaaaaaaaaat's a good girl," and patted her on the head. She immediately slid to the ground and rolled over. That's her "rub my belly" pose.

And I did rub her belly, BUT ONLY BECAUSE I WANTED TO...not because she's the boss of me.

"Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18