There were lots of good pictures to choose from with last weekend’s activities but this one is great because….

(Sunday Paper, Year IV, Issue 40)

At our first puppy training class, the instructor had us unleash the dogs and let them play together.

I had no idea what to expect, but I trusted the instructor not to let us all get eaten by a group of wild puppies and let Tate run free.

She loved it.

And it’s one of the things that I love most about Tate - how friendly she is.

I think we knew that going in - we were told she would be great with kids. (She is.)

I don’t know that we knew how great she would be with other dogs. (She is.)

But I think I had some erroneous preconceptions about dogs throughout my life that being a dog owner has changed drastically.

Growing up, I think I assumed a dog’s default setting was “dangerous.”

To be honest, some of behaviors I’ve seen exhibited by some dog owners as an adult didn’t exactly dispel me of that notion.

I was never scared of dogs…but I was awfully cautious.

Especially when we had our children.

I think partly this stemmed from the fact that our dog growing up was never the super-friendliest. (She fell far short of ‘dangerous’, but she and I had a bit of a rocky relationship.) And I don’t remember meeting a lot of friendly dogs in my neighborhood as a kid. (There was one black lab that walked home from school with us for a few weeks one year, but even that fell more in the category of ‘odd happening’ than ‘friendly dog that will change my mind about all dogs for the rest of my life.’)

But then, walking with the kids (even sometimes just walking or jogging by myself) I’d see people get a little more tight on the leash when walking their dogs nearby, and it made me cautious.

So I try to be mindful of my body language now as a dog owner.

Because Tate has made me rethink things.

Maybe the default is that all dogs are friendly, all dogs want to be around other dogs or people.

Tate has that much love that it makes me think maybe that’s the way all dogs are.

It’s a little bit of a utopian viewpoint, I know.

But last week Matt and my dad and I took Matt’s dog, Mabel, and Tate into Manhattan. The plan was to walk a route in Central Park Matt takes Mabel every week…and then we came to this clearing where there were just a ton of dogs playing because a concert had taken place the night before and it was being broken down and there were no events taking place on the grass.

And Tate ran free with the other dogs and had the time of her life.

Just like in the puppy training class.

And none of the dogs had a problem with each other.

It’s something I never would have imagined with my dog experiences growing up.

But it’s something I’m coming to expect with Tate, who’s made us the luckiest dog owners on the planet.

Writing

*I took on an assignment this week that I’m not an expert about but I am certainly looking forward to learning more about. I wasn’t sure if I should accept it or not but I’ve done research and learned enough about stuff to write about it in the past and I’ll do it again. I can’t say ‘no’ to any work. I’ll tell you more about what I learned in a future ‘Writing’ section, I’m sure.

I will say, with a deadline looming, I have been less than disciplined about buckling down to the work.

Comedy

*Nothing doing in the comedy department this week, but next week is the October edition of Comedy Night at Exhibit ‘A’. It’ll be a lot of fun - as host I get to talk to the audience and sometimes tell jokes, sometimes just set the scene for the night…I think I have some fun stuff to talk about this week.

If you can make it, it’ll be great to see you there. You can get tickets at this link.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

*There was a time when my life revolved around this time of year. Football season - college and pro - baseball post-season, the beginning of hockey season (to a lesser extent). And that was a stretch that lasted longer into my time as a parent than could probably be expected. But things have been so busy in the kids’ lives lately that I am lucky if I get to sit down and watch an inning or two of a baseball game…or anywhere close to a quarter of a football game. (To wit: I’ve made the attempt to turn on Thursday Night Football each of the four or five weeks it’s been on so far, but I haven’t watched one of the games.) And, to be honest, I don't mind it. I could do with a little more downtime…but I don’t know that I’d spend it watching sports right now. I would probably have to spend that time talking to my wife - it’s been a while. But I guess we’ll have a chance to catch up in May or June.

Notes

*On Tuesday (the day that I have a little room in my schedule so I’m giving it a whirl for my longer run day) I did my 9-mile run, and it went a whole lot better than that first attempt I told you about two weeks ago. I ran about 8-and-a-half of the 9 miles, and I think the biggest factor was the weather. I thrive in the fall. And Tuesday was ideal fall running weather.

*This week I agreed to coach my daughter’s basketball team. I was slightly reluctant because of the time commitment and because it unsettles me a bit not knowing when games and practices might interfere with my inconsistent work schedule. But I am sharing responsibilities with another dad and I am sure it will work out. I am getting excited about it, because I’ve always enjoyed my basketball coaching days.

*Matthew made his way through New England for a few shows - a couple of his own and some others playing in a band for someone else - and I am determined the next time he comes through I’m bringing out a crowd. Come be a part of that crowd.

*I’ve also been very excited seeing on Twitter a bunch of playlists and clips of the songs Keane is playing on their tour. Gets me super-excited for that show in late March. Which will probably be here before you know it - just like the Sara Bareilles concert I bought tickets to months ago…which is happening this Friday!

*Oh, hey, you want to follow me on Twitter, you say? You can do that here. What’s that? You’re interested in Liking my Facebook page for when I actually start doing something with that besides posting the links to these Sunday Papers? Well, then, click here.

*In case you couldn’t tell from the picture at the top (and its dramatic conclusion here at the bottom), Tate really adores my brother. It’s almost….upsetting how much she likes him. Maybe more than me? Who’s to say.

…I have Matt taking the picture and the actual picture itself.