the Puppy Christmas

It started in November when I caught a glance of a large black and white dog crawling under our shed occasionally. It was cold so I though she might be seeking some warmth.Then in early December, I thought I heard the sound of crying kittens. Eventually one of these "kittens" crawled out and became a puppy. Under the shed I went and handed John a puppy, then another one and then there were 16 with the mother nowhere to be found.

John cleaned out the shed, put a heater in, bought a bag of dried dog food which we mixed with warm milk and we were parents again.
Even had night feedings. YAY!

The puppies were beautiful .Squirming brown, black and white little creatures, new to the world.and in the daytime we kept them in a wired fence area. Soon the neighborhood kids found their way to the puppy farm.They played, laughed and took a few home to beg parents who resisted.

One girl of about 11 came and asked to take a puppy home for a little while.I was hesitant because I was trying to keep track of who ate and who needed feeding but she begged and I said: "O.K., but be back in a half hour."She beamed and then Arlene assured me she would.An hour later I was still wondering where she was when she appeared. I snapped at her maybe from fatigue, maybe because I could and she went home chastened. I have felt bad since.

For 8 years I have known that I need to tell her I am sorry, she who has not had an easy life,Father missing. I have rarely seen her and always while driving by but today there she was.Grown, works at the airport, she was talking to someone in her driveway as I power walked by. I stopped and asked her if she remembered the puppies.She said she did and I told her I was so sorry I had been harsh with her.She said:"That's O.K.I just wanted to keep one."Then I knew that she was so late coming back because she was begging her Mom who said, "No."

You don't have to be in AA to know when amends need to be made.Today, was a good , light day.