Treat Them Like Dogs

One of the best lessons I have learned is about appreciation. And it is best demonstrated by the family dog!

It isn't always easy to remember to let the people closest to us know how much we love and appreciate them. I have been working on changing that habit, still it is sometimes a challenge.

"Gosh, doesn't he/she know how much I care?", "I take out the trash", "I do the dishes", "I make my bed"...what I noticed is that we tend to assume (there's that word again!) that because we do tasks that the other person expects us to do, we think they should know that we love them. Heck, just because we are there we think they should know! Hello! What do you mean, you can't read my mind? I have to actually tell you that I love you?

We come home from work, the gym, school, wherever and sometimes they are lucky to get a "hi honey, I'm home". And we're lucky to get a "hello" back.

Now picture the family dog. You come home from wherever. You may have been gone 10 hours or 10 minutes, it doesn't matter. The dog is at the door, wagging his tail, joyful to see you! "Oh I love you, I'm so glad you are home, you make my day bright, thank you for being part of my life, you are a wonderful human, I sure love you". Doesn't that feel fantastic?! Of course it does!

So, treat your family like dogs...you be the dog, so happy to see them. If they come home after you, greet them at the door if possible, give them a smile and a hug (that's the human version the tail wag) and tell them you love them. If you come home after them, go find them and then give them the smile, hug and love.

At first they might think you have lost it! But they will love it...and so will you!