Bath Day

What a beautiful day! The sun was so bright & warm and the temperature was up in the 30's. I ventured outside several times to enjoy the day and thank God for the sunshine. After the past weeks of sub-zero temps, This was a bonafide heat wave! Maybe the spring-like weather affected my brain, but I felt good and started the day with a lot of ambition. After putting it off for too long, I came to the realization that it was time to bathe the dog. That sounds simple enough. Everyone bathes their dogs so this should be a regular event here. I'm a firm believer that dogs should be bathed outside, but the long winters here make living with the muskie critter smell too much. The dog in my sights today was Bear. He's a border collie/marremra mix. His border collie side makes him very hyper & easily excitable. His marremra side gives him the STRONG opinion of what is and is not acceptable. In his opinion, bathes are in the "not acceptable" category. (The combination of the breeds makes him a Great guard dog, but as easy to work with as an adolescent with attitude.)It took a long time to introduce him to the idea of getting into the bathtub without a fight. Once there, I worked quickly, taking care to keep him calm enough to stay put until the job was finished. Everything was going great until the rinse cycle. To rinse all that fur, the spray from the shower was the only answer. In trying to keep the water contained to just him, me, and the tub I tried to carefully slide the shower curtain around behind me with one hand while I held Bear with the other. Some of my best ideas don't always go as smoothly as planned. Half-way through the sliding process, the curtain, liner, and rod come crashing down on top of both of us. Did I mention that Bear is naturally high strung? Did I also mention that sometimes my ambition overrides my good sense? Here I am fighting off the curtain with my free hand, trying desperately to keep a hold of Bear before he could get loose and coat the bathroom with soap & water, and the whole time Praying for God to help! I can just imagine God hearing my cries and shaking His head thinking, "she's at it again". To make a long story short, we survived, Bear looks great, and it'll be summer before I have to do the bath routine again. I know that God has a sense of humor ... He created me, and tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Ain't that a kicker?