Way back when, my baby sister had a pull-toy identical to this one. I was ten at the time–too old for toys, I was told–but I think I loved that dog almost as much as she did! Its body was wooden and its tail was springy; and no matter where or how she dragged it, it looked at her with adoring eyes. Brown ears flopping and red wheels clacking, it followed her everywhere.
When the red plastic string finally broke, Mei-Ling cried and cried. My brother Randy fixed Snoopy with a frayed string from an old yo-yo and wiped away her tears. Happy smiles, wagging tail…the inseparable duo were off on another adventure.
Around the same time, we rescued a puppy from the side of the road—a dachshund puppy we called Kelly. At first, he was so insecure that he’d shadow our footsteps, whining his anxieties and begging for food. Before long, he looked like the wiener dog in my old On We Go reader*– “too short from top to bottom, and too wide from side to side.”
My sister hadn’t yet learned that there are important differences between wooden toys and flesh-and-blood playmates. Kelly sensed this, I think, because he accepted a lot of abuse from her. But when she tried to pull him around by the collar, he dug in his heels and growled. And when she rolled him down the stairs in a Halloween pumpkin, poor thing, he ran away with a crazed look in his eyes.
Truth be told, Kelly was a hobo at heart. He liked traveling more than he loved us. We tried fencing him in, but that didn’t work. Then my father tied him to a tree with a clothesline, and when that didn’t hold him, he tethered him with a leather leash. I swear, that dog was channeling Houdini—he even slipped loose from a thick metal chain!
Thinking back on those puppies today, I understand better two important life lessons: First, that love means honoring the inherent qualities of Other. And also, the harder we try to hold onto something, the more transient it becomes.
*a treasured book I stole from school, but that’s another story
Ten too old for toys? Pish posh, I say. 😉
Yeah, I know.
I know better now, but that’s what I was told when I was ten.
*admires your American Girls* 🙂
Oh yes, that dog brings back fond memories. I never had one but the 2 kids did. Dotsy had a lot of toys for the kids she kept for many years. Doc and Susan played with theirs all the time when they were small. One is NEVER to small for toys. If I find one out and about in my travels, I’ll get it just for you.
I love toys. I really and truly do. I rarely played with them as a child and can’t get enough of them now.
Thanks, PapaDan, for reading between the lines. xoxo
What a beautiful post, Melodye, and the lessons learned are so valuable.
I know that little wooden dog with the springy tail! I loved mine too!
How could you help but smile when you saw that boingy tail?
Thanks for stopping by to play!
Such a lovely post. Thank you!!
Thanks for coming out to play!
Such a lovely post. Thank you!!
My kids had that dog.
What a wonderful sentiment, yes, honor the inherent qualities of Other and don’t hold on too tight. Thank you.
Lucky kids! Did you save it for them?
The universe offers us such beautiful lessons if/when we’re open to receiving them. Thanks for allowing me to share what I’m learning.
I love, love, love the way you take events in your life and turn them into these deeply profound moments of revelation. Your writing makes me examine my own life experiences under the surface.
See you tomorrow at 10!
I don’t know that they’re profound thoughts, but they represent my current thinking. And oh, I’m really hoping some of this spills over into my WIP and that it’s all for the good.
Can’t wait to see you again. Should I bring that book?
I love, love, love the way you take events in your life and turn them into these deeply profound moments of revelation. Your writing makes me examine my own life experiences under the surface.
See you tomorrow at 10!
Thanks for sharing, Melodye.
And I had one of those dogs, too. 1976, where did you go? 🙂
ha ha ha–and sigh. Try a decade earlier… 🙂
I had one of those! I remember loving it as well.
Ah, really? We should form a club! 🙂
So good to see you here…thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for sharing with us, Melodye. I remember that dog very well as my daughter had one.
I had two wooden pull toys that I saved for my kids to play with… one was a Mama chicken and her babies and the other was a pumpkin that had cut out windows in it with people inside… the pumpkin was divided half way down and you lifted the top off to get to them. Not sure whether it was supposed to be Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater or Cinderella’s coach
Oh, your pull-toys sound adorable! Do you ever get all sentimental and wish you had them again?
Yup, I used to haunt eBay all the time looking for toys for Irina (my granddaughter) that her mother and I had as children.
I’m afraid that I haven’t been doing that as much as I used to… the presents seem to be slowly taking over what little room I have. It would be different if she and her mother were in my life, but… que sera, sera.
Whoa—que sera sera. Girl, did you by any chance read my latest entry?
*shivery magic again*
LOL…that’s one of my favorite sayings. That and “go with the flow.”
I’m dating myself here, but I can remember Doris Day signing Que Sera Sera, in the movie.The Man Who Knew Too Much but most people will remember the song as being the theme song for The Doris Day Show back in the late 60’s.
Thanks for sharing with us, Melodye. I remember that dog very well as my daughter had one.
I had two wooden pull toys that I saved for my kids to play with… one was a Mama chicken and her babies and the other was a pumpkin that had cut out windows in it with people inside… the pumpkin was divided half way down and you lifted the top off to get to them. Not sure whether it was supposed to be Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater or Cinderella’s coach