Snow Bell

For the past couple of days the back yard has been blanketed with snow. It's lovely. And my ears are ringing. No, it's not tinnitus or a fever or the aftermath of a rock concert... It's one little hotel bell that rings every 15-20 minutes as a result of one scruffy puppy who has decided that playing in the snow is really fun. Kirby is abusing his "go outside" notification technique, and it now seems to have less to do with number one or number two than it does with running, pouncing, digging, rolling and shoveling little troughs with his nose. He stays out just long enough to get thoroughly coated with little ice balls, then comes in to thaw out and "ding" once again.

So what do I do? How do I know the second and third and fourth ding are fake-outs and not "I ate too much snow and my bladder is still small" ? If I ignore the bell, then the whole purpose of it is lost. I guess I just have to be the wizard who decides when the request is real and when it is not. And he will have to believe that I am just magic enough to do this.

And I have to remember how I was as a kid in the snowy Midwest: "Mom, I wanna go outside and play." Mom spends 10 minutes bundling me up. Play until I am too numb to use my hands and feet effectively. Come inside. Mom spends 10 minutes disrobing me. Drink something hot and endure the pain of thawing toes. Fifteen minutes later: "Mom, I wanna go outside and play." Ah, the stamina of childhood. It wears off when you get old enough to shovel.

Hey, there's an idea...