Question 2

Tell us about your loss of a pet
There are 2 days from my childhood that relate to having an animal that I remember like it was yesterday because of the impact those days had on my life.
The first day was when I was going into Grade 2 after a family meeting we all piled into the car and drove to the local SPCA to pick out a dog. I don't remember any of the other dogs but Grizzly. He was a skinny 6 month old collie X that just shook from the excitement in the back set with me on the way home. He was a little timid at first but quickly became my best friend. Everyone in our family loved him deeply as he travelled with us to visit grandma, we took him camping in the mountains and fishing at the lake in the sun and on the ice. Everyone loved him because he was a great family dog.
In the coming years my mom decided to go back to work, my dad was worked long hours at his job that frequently took him out of town and I started to find new things to occupy my time as I grew older other than caring for the dog.
The second life changing day is still so real to me even now as I reflect on it. When I came home from my friends house, Grizzly did not come to greet me as I walked in. I remember asking without concern, "Mom, where's Grizz?" Her and my dad called me to the dining room, sat me down and with very upset and emotional faces said they started to talk to me. I don't really remember how they said it but they made the decision to surrender Grizzly to the SPCA for another family to enjoy him. Our schedules were so busy that he was being neglected. No one was taking him for walks, or grooming him, he just hung around the house and the yard because everyone in the family including us kids were too busy to give him the love he needed. I remember trying to negotiate his return, "I'll do more... I'll do better..." and then running to the basement wailing in tears for hours, it was a flood of emotion like I had never felt. I knew Grizzly wasn't dead and that another family was going to take him but I had lost him from my life, no good bye.
My dad loved that dog and he had to bring my uncle with him for support when they dropped him off. I knew it was tearing him apart too. The following day my uncle went in the SPCA to see what happened to Grizzly because he decided that he was going to adopt Grizzly because he loved him too. When he asked the staff there about him they said he was picked up earlier that day by a young family who lived on a farm just outside of town who needed a friendly family dog. They sure lucked out! Our family still struggles to talk about that day because of the intense pain that we all felt. My dad still breaks down in tears when he thinks about those days, but we always have the memories of the good times and the comfort knowing Grizzly was loved by many.

Politically Correct Ice Cream

Growing up I lived in a very health conscious home and my parents made me order milk or orange juice during the one time visit we took to McDonalds when everyone else was drinking root beer, I was taught a very strong message about eating balanced meals. You may need to know a little something about me in order for you to truly understand my issue here - my one eternal weakness is ice cream! I can't eat lots of it but I can't help but have some of it. Somewhere along the line I thought that ice cream with fruit in it, like strawberry or blueberry or even mango was better for you even though there usually isn't much fruit if any. As I became an adult I started to branch out on my own and enjoy the rich dark forbidden flavors of chocolate and I started to indulge in a variety of chocolate ice cream treats over the healthier fruit selections - it was a family scandal! As I wandered away from the teachings of my youth I began to see the many options ice cream lovers had to choose from. Nuts, caramel, mint, licorice, bubble gum, cotton candy, rainbow, cookie dough and many combinations that would almost be sinful to consider.
Over the years I have also noticed from my peers that they become loyal to a flavor - they either align with the chocolate genre or with the fruit flavors. There have been many industrious campaigns to win people over by adding nuts to the chocolate or larger pieces of fruit or even creating designer names for the flavors but one thing stays the same - fruit or chocolate.
I have since matured and realized that my love of fruity ice cream will always be a part of me but I don't ever want to smother my secret passion for chocolate so thus I have a found the most politically correct ice cream to satisfy both camps. I am exposing a secret to my happiness in life; this is how I blend both of my flavor spectrums. I have found a flavor that allows me to sit on the fence, to be neutral, to live like I am Switzerland - I can eat ice cream like an impartial voter. I am eating Chocolate Covered Cherries and I am proud of it!
I had a small DQ Blizzard tonight (my first one of the year) and I always find them so big but I just savored every spoonful - some with fruit - some with chocolate chunks.... It was divine... I don't ever remember a Sunday evening so sweet.