Gifts Without Measure

One of my fondest  love languages is “gift-giving”.  I cherish even the smallest item received from a friend and I spend countless hours selecting the perfect gift when shopping for someone else.  In case you are unfamiliar with Gary Chapman‘s concept of “love languages”, a love language is a preferred method of expressing and receiving love.  We each have a method that is more meaningful to us than any other.  For me, exchanging gifts has significance that inexplicably transcends the exterior token.

Freedom from Fear

There are dog families and there are cat families. We are a dog family, no question.

We currently have a maltese-poodle mix. In Luby-Lu world, he is Buddy-Boo, more than a pet – a beloved part of our family. By human standards, he is a spoiled baby and by doggie standards . . . he’s pretty much a spoiled baby, too.

But this story isn’t about him. It’s about his friend, Lizzie-Lu. Lizzie-Lu belongs to a family, friends of ours, that adopted her from a shelter when she was about 1 year old. Her poodle ancestry is evident both in her features and her demeanor – energetic, intellegent, vocal, and high-strung. But, I believe, her early upbringing may have created some characteristics that work against her.