Chasing the Red Ball

I bought my 8-month-old golden retriever a red squeaky ball.  This is, by no means, her first and only ball.  But, she is crazy for it like no other.  When she gets it, she is elated.  I imagine that the way she feels about the red ball is the way housewives felt about sliced bread.  (Tain’t nothin' better, June Cleaver.)  She plays with it all by herself.  Throws it in the air, chases it, drops it and watches it roll under furniture so she can squeeze under to retrieve it.  She is over-the-moon-happy.  She will choose the ball over a treat.  We go on “ball lock down” at night because she can’t sleep if it is in the same room.

The ball is also an “all access pass”.  If it happens to roll into the shower with me, well, then, she has to pad on in and get it.  If it rolls into the bathroom when I’m in there, is there really a choice?  She has to come in and get it.  Now you can see why we have “ball lock down”.

Just an aside, right now Annie is pushing her ball on my lap, then lunging forward to retrieve it before I can get it.  I think I now have bruises on my legs from her paws. This kind of hurts. (This is the dark side of the red ball — another story for another day.)

I was trying to think about what my “red ball” might be.  (I am going to keep this G-rated, so get your mind out of the gutter).  And if, by the end of this article, I haven’t discovered what that is, you can bet I will be on the hunt. It seems like everyone should have that certain “something something” that makes you smile like a golden retriever.  You should seek your red ball, too. Just sayin'. 

Is it your job? Yeah, probably not.  OK, maybe for a couple of you. You might be otherwise known as a "freak of nature" to your "friends".  A working zealot.

Shoes? They are nice, but my experience is that the ones that make me smile usually also make my feet numb and sometimes hobbling occurs. 

Chocolate cake? You can throw that in the air and catch it, but you usually won’t want it if it rolls under a chair.

Babies make me smile, but now I like them best when they are someone else's.  (Not your baby though, I love YOUR baby. Your baby is the best-est.)

Maybe this is what we are all searching for, the thing that gets your heart going.  I will not reveal my age, but let’s just say that at a CERTAIN age, one can start getting serious about this quest. Chasing the red ball.

I think for me, it is seeing someone smile at something I have said.  Doesn’t matter what kind of smile, any smile will do. I would even take a Mona Lisa smile.  A little har-dee-har-har even. I don’t think it is my “all access pass”, but it has gotten me through some crazy times.  I get a weird happy feeling that I don’t get from anything else (again, out of the gutter) when I see the pearly whites.

Victory.  Red ball retrieved.