Sugary Antidote to Stress

My fluff ball in my home office just now.

Sug.

She likes to rest on my neoprene Lilly Pulitzer laptop bag on my little wicker couch here in my sunroom office. I just took her around the block [which includes an uphill] when I got back from boot camp. I try to take her around the block whenever I come in from somewhere--before I take my coat off, I put hers on and out we go.

On that walk, she met Duke, a male Bichon Frise one year her senior. Being the runt of her litter--so much smaller than Duke--she gave him a run for his money with good barking. He just looked at her, matter-of-fact and dignified. She stood there in her red fleece plaid coat acting 10 times her size. She weighs under 10 pounds and fits nicely in the crook of your arm or on your lap.

I think there's a lesson to be learned. Sugar can act fearless, even though she's really scared inside. And though this brave bark has gotten her bitten once, it hasn't stopped her from thinking big, and acting as though the world exists for her to explore and prance proudly through--and that the bones buried in every yard, the apples on every tree in life, are hers for the taking.