Lesson 2: Be creative

Talking about Buddy and his balls, I am constantly amazed by the games he’s invented.  Buddy believes that you should be able to do something with a ball no matter where you are.  He’s invented games for every room in the house that take on new twists and turns over the years.  If you’re sitting on the pot, there’s one game of “drop and roll the ball"; in the kitchen it’s drop the ball in a drawer that’s been left open or in the dishwasher when you’re not looking; etc.  But the game he and I like to play the most is called “under the dresser.”  

This is what the game has evolved into over the years:  I lie down at the end of the dresser.  Buddy comes and lies down against the dresser right beside me.  He’s got his ball, and he chews it and works it and plays with it while I wait for him to let it go.  I’ll tap on the ball telling him, “I want the ball,” and he just looks at me and continues to work the ball over.  At one point he feels it’s time and then lets go of the ball.  Then it’s my turn.  I can take the ball, place it on his head, between his paws, up against his nose or wherever, and he knows he’s not to grab it.  I roll the ball around his head, and he just watches it.  After a little time I take the ball and then roll it under the dresser.  The ball will roll somewhere under the dresser, sometimes coming out the other end, sometimes just rolling back and forth underneath.  He clamors to where the ball is going and if he can grab it, he pounces on it.  If it’s still stuck under the dresser, he reaches WAY under with one of his front paws and bats the ball until it’s close enough for him to grab onto.  Then he comes back over to me, throws himself down onto the ground next to me, and the game starts over, all the while falling into a snort/snuffle.

Bud’s always thinking outside the box.  With his inventiveness, all the games have changed over the years.  I’m amazed on how fresh and fun he keeps things, and what joy he takes from the smallest things. 

When I let myself go and look at what I’m doing in a different light, sometimes the most amazing things happen.  I realize my head is the only thing keeping me from achieving things beyond my own limited imagination.