New Year's Resolutions

As anyone on the east coast will tell you, New Year's day was what could only be described as blustery and COLD!. I now know what "wind chill" means, frst hand! Because it was too cold to do anything other than stay inside, I spent the afternoon phoning friends that I didn't get a chance to see over the holidays. It was a good way to brighten up a dreary day.

Invariably, the subject of New Year's resolutions came up. Dex vowed to be more organized. Dee is going to quit smoking. Cathy is going to have more fun (when I asked how she would accomplish that, she answered in true dog person fashion. "I am going to do more dog shows!") Barbara is going to finish the CDX title on her Argentine Dogo if it kills her (I don't know if she was referring to herself or the dog - I didn't want to ask!) and Laura is definitely, positively, without a doubt going to get her husband involved in kennel work. (They have been married 20 years! I didn't want to tell her that this may be one of those resolutions that disappear by January 15th!)

Randy wants to find a new job - did I know of any (and, no, NOT dog related!)? Cindy wants to spend more time with her friends (although her husband, Chip, may have something to say about that!) and Jen, the best veterinarian in South Jersey, to make more time for herself and her kids.

All this talk about resolutions got me thinking. What did I resolve to accomplish is 2009? I am already pretty organized. I am not ready to quit smoking. My job has me at dog shows almost every weekend and I LOVE doing my kennel work (work? What work?)

I already have the the best job in the world, and, because dog people hang with dog people at doggy events, I see my friends all the time. And make more time for myself? What does THAT mean? So ... what DID I want to accomplish in 2009?

My late friend, Sharon (lost to cancer almost five years ago) had a sign on her kennel door that I now keep in my kitchen. It is a quote written by a man named Ben Williams, a wonderful dog trainer. I doubt if he will mind if I use what he has written as my 2009 New Year's resolution...

"My goal is life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am."

Happy New Year, Everyone!