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cone

Yep, we decided to take Duder and get him neutered.  As the blonde likes to put it, he lost his balls.  (in fact, at one point she told me to chop them off and hang them from my truck)  After the procedure, one of my daughters asked me this question: “Dad, are you going to make a duder blog post about Duder losing his balls? You guys have so much in common!”

Got me thinking…

First – Why is my daughter asking me about my balls?

Duder and DaisySecond – Yes, I have technically been neutered.  Thank goodness, not the same method they used on Duder.  Along these lines, some advice for those thinking about going through the Human version of neutering,,,  do not, I repeat, do not let your spouse in the room with you when you get it done.  The Blonde was laughing the entire time.  Picture that, laying on table, Doctor and Nurse working on that particular area and your wife laughing her head off.  Chills just thinking about it…

Third – The Blonde said that Duder lost his man card.  However, I do not think it was the neutering that did that.  As soon as we brought his new little sister home, they were gone.  As soon as I met the Blonde, mine was gone as well.  I try desperately to cling to it.  Try to do manly things, but hey let’s face it.  The Blonde is in charge, always will be.

And, I’m okay with that.

Yep, no man card here…

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star trek

He loves Star Trek.  He has a captain’s chair bed, sleeps in a Star Trek bed on a Star Trek blanket, and has a Star Trek name tag.  He tells me all the time how much he likes it.  Ok, maybe he doesn’t, he is a dog after all.  But I love it and so he must love it too, right?

Got me thinking…

Do our kids or those around us all love the same things as us?  I forced, yes forced, my kids to all listen to my music.  I even made them watch Star Trek every once in a while.  I want them to like everything I like, because obviously it is the best.  If I like it, then it must be good right?   I also think that all my kids should have the same philosophical view of life.  (Duder does)

star trek name tage

I believe that a goal of any parent it to teach kids to live their own life, make their own choices, and decide for themselves what they like.  I can influence, I can persuade, but ultimately, our kids grow up and they have to decide for themselves who they are.  As one of kids put it to me one day, “I don’t like adulting”

I look back at the things my Mom and Dad like.  Do I like everything they do?  Nope.   Did they influence my likes?  Of course.  I don’t think they like Star Trek though…

star trek bed

Let’s learn from Duder.  He knows that Star Trek is one of the best media franchises created.  We all should admit that.  Do I dare say it is better than Star Wars??  Of course.  We should all admit that too.

BTW, there are not a lot of dogs on Star Trek,,, why is that?  I can only think of one regular.  Anyone know who?

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Duder and I go walking every morning, (I walk, he runs around in crazy mode).  We have a couple of different places we like to go.  We found this old abandoned road that is perfect for walks.  I walk straight down the road, Duder is all over the place, out in the weeds, jumping through the bushes, one time he chased a rabbit down the road for a while.

duder road

Got me thinking,,,

We all have the Road of Life that we are always traveling on.  We do not know where it goes.  Sometimes the road is smooth and straight, but there is always going to be potholes, blind corners, and hazards.  How we travel this road defines us.

A theme of mine is: “Life is what you make it”.  This is very relevant to our road.  As we travel the road, one thing we can control is our view of it.  Do we see a cracked ugly road?  Do we see a boring straight road?  Do we see the cool mountains ahead of us?  Do we see the clear blue sky?

Let’s learn from Duder.  When he in on the road, he is always enjoying it.  Finding other things to see, other aspects of the road that I may not notice.  The road will continue, it does not end.  Our ability to make it a good road depends on our ability to make it good in our minds.  The ugly road can be a beautiful road, if we let it.

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Duder and I go for a walk every morning.  We drive over to a place where he can go off leash.  As we drive over, he will occasionally put his head on my shoulder.  It is amazing how this simple gesture can just make my day.  It is his way of showing affection for me,,(either that or he is telling me to “hurry up, I have to pee!!”)

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Got me thinking…

What are the simple gestures we do for those around us?  For me, it is very easy to get so wrapped up and worried about my world that I forget the needs of everyone else.   Everyone has stress and worries in life.  A simple act of kindness can truly make a huge difference for someone.  We do not know what is going on in other’s minds.  Take the time a do something small for someone else around you.  These can be simple things, like a genuine smile, handwritten note, text to say hi, hugs, etc…

Let’s learn from Duder, make someone’s day with a simple gesture.

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We had to put up a new sign for Duder.  He has not been obeying the sign.  Look at him!!  Giving me that sarcastic gaze, telling me; “I don’t care what sign you put up, I’m going to hump this pillow!”

humping

Of course, this is natural behavior for dogs, male and female.  It can be controlled with,,,,well,,,,I actually don’t know how it can be controlled.

Got me thinking,,,,  (no, it did not get me thinking about that…)

Do we all have natural behaviors in our lives?  Are the things we do natural behaviors or are they learned behaviors?  Let’s explore.

Q:  Is it natural for me to leave the toilet seat up?

A:  Yes.  Several reasons why.  Men are proud of their work, they want to leave it on display.  Also, we generally wait until that last second to go, so we have to have that seat up for convenience.  Also, it is just too much work to put the stupid thing down.  Also, how would Duder get anything to drink if the seat was down?

Q:  Is it natural for the blonde to put the toilet seat down?

A:  Yes.  Several reasons why.  Women are not proud of their work, (at least not in this area).  Also, it is a clean and tidy thing, just looks messy not being down.  Also, it is simply something that she likes to harass me about.

Q:  Is it natural for me to go golfing?

A:  Yes.  Swinging a stick and hitting something as hard as you can is a very natural behavior.  Goes back to the days of halving to hit your dinner with a stick in order to even have dinner.

Q:  Is it natural for me to me to ignore the blonde on occasion?

A:  Yes.  Men have simple minds.  One thought at a time.  If a thought comes in, then there is not any room for anything else, so we have to follow that thought to the end.  Even in the thought is “how did my baseball team lose last night?”

Q:  Is it natural for the blonde to shop?  all the time?

A:  Yes.  Shopping for the blonde is not about actually buying anything.  The experience and the process of looking at stuff seems to the motivation.  However, as the blonde gets older, this behavior seems to be going away.  She is now more like me, get in and out asap.

So, let’s learn from Duder, (no, let’s not hump everything all the time), let’s let some of our natural behavior out on occasion.  At least until the blonde tells you to stop.

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Below is a pile of dirt that Duder found and he had some fun playing.  He left many footprints all over the hill.  (could not capture a pic of him on the hill as he was running around like a maniac)

footprints

Got me thinking….

What are the footprints we leave?  Everyday we go to work, engage with our families, interact with people on many different occasions.  What kind of impression do we leave?  Every interaction we have some other people will have an impact on them.  Likewise, every interaction they have with us will leave an impact on us.  Many times this impact is minimal or nothing.  But, many times we can have a big impact.

I believe that we should always be aware of how our footprints might impact people.  We  should always strive to have positive impact on everyone.  Be upbeat and caring about them and their situations.  Simply smiling is a good footprint to leave.  Show people that you are happy to see them.  Don’t let your bad mood transfer to them.

Duder’s footprints are happy footprints.  Let’s follow his example and leave nothing but positive footprints everywhere we go.

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I captured this shot of Duder hanging out the window the other day.  He looks totally relaxed.  Like someone who just sat down on a beach somewhere and stops to take a deep breath and let truck windowthe troubles of life flow away from them.  Imagine you are in that spot, how do you truly get this relaxed?  How do you just throw your arms to you side, lay your head back, close your eyes and just breathe?

Taking the time to Stop and Breath is important for our well being.  Life is busy and full of stress.  If you don’t release it, it just builds and collects, like dust on your ceiling fan.  You need to get rid of it.

Every morning before I begin my work day, I take 5 to 10 minutes and meditate.  This is simply me sitting back in my chair, closing my eyes, breathing deep and thinking about nothing.  Do everything you can to clear the mind.  Once this exercise is done, I am calm and more capable of thinking about my day and everything on the to do list.

Follow the example of Duder.  Find the time to just Stop and Breathe.