IF YOU DON’T KNOW MY DOG'S NAME, YOU DON’T KNOW ME . . .

IF YOU DON’T KNOW MY DOG’S NAME, YOU DON’T KNOW ME…

If you know me, really know me, you know my dog’s name, her story, our story, and what she means to my heart . 

After my Dad passed away in 2005 I was asked to accept an award being presented in his honor  from the school where he was a teacher.  During the presentation the speaker outlined programs my Dad had started, accomplishments he made and footprints he had left in the life of the school and in the lives of the students he taught. 


I didn't know any of this before he passed.

After my Son, J.T., passed away in 2007 I met people he touched and heard stories of how he taught them how to play guitar, how he had encouraged a church to give financial support to a young family in need and  how he had befriended an internationally recognized artist and  over coffee they would talk about the Universe.


I didn't know any of this before he passed.

How many times in life do we believe we know someone, yet we haven’t taken the time to know what makes their heart sing?


We hurry through our days, our lives and our relationships without knowing who and what  they love, what is important to them or what impact they are having by investing a piece of themselves in the heart of another.

I regret not knowing these remarkable details about my Son and my Dad when they were alive.


How I wish I could go back and share with my Dad my pride for his accomplishments when they happened.


How I wish I could have shared in the conversations with my Son and the artist as they talked about the Universe.  


How I wish my heart had sung with theirs during these magic moments of their lives. 

It isn't that hard, really.  We need to slow the pace of our lives.  We need to take the screens away from our faces.  The screens that include televisions, computers, phones and the emotional privacy screen we put up to keep us from getting too close or revealing too much.


We need to sit knee to knee, eye to eye and connect.   We need to care enough to listen and learn each other’s heart songs, likes and loves -the simple ones and the grand ones.

As for me, if you don’t know my dog’s name, her story, our story, and what she means to my heart, you don’t know me.  Her name is Yogee.  

Pennie’s Life Lesson:
                 “Care enough to really know someone –
                                         know  what makes  their heart sing.”

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