Typical boys, Sam and Pippin will complain about anything.
Because they’re dogs, they see Donna and me as their Higher Power, so whenever they have something to complain about, the blame is directed at us.
Well, Sam’s not actually a dog, he’s a poodle… but dogs, poodles, teenagers, soccer fans – they’re all pretty much the same when it comes to complaining: pick a topic, any topic, and start fussing about it: the weather, the food, the visiting relatives, your team turns out to be only the fourth best in the entire world.
Today, it was the heat. Sam wanted to go out and play with his green duck – which is actually a frog, but… don’t ask. Lately, all of his toys, except the bear, are all ducks. The glow-in-the-dark ball that he got for Christmas is now his “ball duck”. The yellow rubber duck that looks almost like the green duck/frog is his “yellow duck”. Only the Raggedy Ann mallard is just a “duck”.
Somehow, when we tried to teach him to fetch specific items to play with by name, the training went backwards.
And instead of us telling him which toy to bring, he now picks whichever “duck” he wants to play with on a given day, and we comply. Resistance is futile. Throw a different toy for him to catch, and he’ll just let it bounce off his head… and look at us with piteous contempt.
Pippin will chase a toy… sometimes… and then run right past it to find a place to dig.
Pippin is a digger. When it’s not too darned hot to dig, that is. Or when there’s rain – even a drizzle – and it’s not fit to go outside. His special brand of disdainful looks is nonchalant contempt.
Today, those looks of contempt were directed at us over our apparent inability – or unwillingness – to turn down the heat. Sure, it started with a simple request to lower the thermostat. Step outside, test the temperature, step back in. Wait a few minutes and step outside again to see if the mercury has dropped… nope back inside. Plead with us to cool things down. Demand it.
And eventually… that resignation to contempt.
Apparently, like the English soccer team, Donna and I aren’t perfect enough, and so, for the time being, we are worth nothing at all.