My Little Houdini/Lebron/Babygirl -- Pt. 2

So the following story didn't come to you as soon as I planned, but hey, it's here.

Once again, I was not there to witness the actual events of this occurrence, but it has been relayed to my by a very trustworthy and reputable source, Rebecca.

A couple blocks from my house, we have an outdoor ice rink which doubles as an unleashed dog park during the summer months, a wonderful place to bring a dog who LOVES to run. Becca brought Mae there one day while I was, again, at work. It was a little busier there than usual, a lot of people had their dogs with them on this nice summer day. The dog park, however, remained empty and would soon belong to Mae.

As she was running around the dog park, there was another dog being walked on the pathway on the other side of the fence. Normally, this is no big deal, but this path was just high enough so that Mae could see on the other side.

Mae likes to say hello to other dogs.

Remember, Mae is a boxer, a fairly intimidating-looking dog to most people.

Mae, who in the past has had absolutely no issue jumping over baby gates on the 3rd step from the basement, decided that she wanted to say hello to this little chihuahua. She proceeded to take a few steps back, run, and clear the 4 ft. high fence in a single bound. (She's a little more like Superman than Lebron I think, but last time I went with Lebron so I kinda have to stick with Lebron)

As Rebecca (who doesn't fly like Superman) is running to the door to get out of the dog park, Mae runs toward this little dog who has been swept up by its owner...who has dropped her cell phone and everything else she had in her hands. I'm pretty happy I wasn't there, because the frantic look I have put on this freaked out owner who thinks her dog is becoming my dog's chew toy is probably a much funnier look than the actual pissed-off cranky look she had on her face at the time.

End of the story short, Becca pulled Mae off the owner, got her on her leash, and took her home. When I got there she told me the story, appalled at what Mae had done. My only response was a good, hard laugh and a "well, you shouldn't buy a dog that looks like a chew toy."

Becca doesn't take her to the dog park without me anymore.

Until next time,

Don't buy a dog that looks like a chew toy, or my dog will treat it as such.

My Little Houdini/Lebron/Babygirl

I have a dog.

Her name is Mae.

She is a boxer.

We adopted her about 6 months ago, and now she is 2 years old.

I will share two of my favorite stories that really sum up the whole of my experience with her in my life.

When I go to work, Mae goes to her kennel, which she doesn't mind if I'm around, but when I'm gone, she gets kinda antsy in there. While I was at work one day, Becca was going to my house to let Mae outside and feed her and play with her and such, because we are good parents.

I hate it when people do that, talk about themselves as parents with a dog. It's gross, so we are good dog owners? Yea that's how I'll say it. We are good dog owners.

Walking up to my house, she saw Mae in the large window that looks into the kitchen. She was not, however, JUST sitting in the window, but sitting on top of my bar height table which sits right in front of the window. Just chilling, waiting for me to come home. In the few hours I had been at work she had accomplished to:

1) Break out of her kennel. She is a regular Houdini and now has padlocks located at the corners and the door of the kennel.

2) Somehow gotten out of the laundry room where her kennel was, the door to which I had shut...and was still shut. I repeat, Houdini.

3) Pooped and peed in the living room. This was kind of expected, but still, worth noting.

4) Jumped up to retrieve her bag of treats (located on a shelf above the washer, a good 6 ft. in the air) As well as Houdini, she jumps like Lebron.

5) Ate her entire bag of treats. Later, I read the bag and it recommended NO MORE than 1-2 treats per day. Whoops.

6) Chewed up a roll of paper towels.

This one's my favorite.

7) Got a can of Dr. Pepper off the counter, popped a hole in it, a proceeded to drink 3/4 of the can. She certainly has good taste in soda!

and last, as you already know,

8) Patiently waited my arrival home while sitting atop my table, again, bar height table. Lebron ain't got nothin on her.

I'll leave the other story for tomorrow I think.

Until Next Time,

Nate

Whoops

I should tell you guys this. If you're on vacation without your fiancé, don't blog about a dream where you almost die. She may read it and begin to worry that you're about to die, then yell at you about it later. Ok, so she didn't yell at me, but made it clear that it wasn't a very nice thing of me to do :)

Dreams

Wow, another one already?? I’m proud of myself, I certainly won’t keep up like this, that I can promise you.

I know I already stated that I had no agenda or plan of curriculum for this blog. But if I did, I would certainly not start it off on the note on which I am about to. I hate the nutty religious types who speak of nothing but their faith and ignore the world around them, but I will begin on my faith. I apologize in advance, but this dream I had last night was so incredibly vivid and spoke into my heart so much that I cannot help but to share it.

It started with a storm, not over my head, but over Antarctica. I was sitting over coffee with three others, talking about the impact this storm would have. I had heard one time that the ice of Antarctica kept the Earth on axis, and we were wondering if something insane happened down there, what implications would it bring up here? (I know you science people, this doesn’t make sense, but in my dream this was a well-known fact so bare with me).

This next part is when it became incredibly real to me. It all of a sudden felt as if the atmosphere had disappeared, I quickly felt the oxygen content in the air become lighter and lighter, feeling myself beginning to suffocate, until I knew that there was no more breathable air for me, I would certainly die soon. Then this is where it got kinda strange. Yup. It’s not strange yet.

I had absolutely no fear. There was not a worried bone in my body. I remember the thought repeating itself over and over was this, “I’ll get to see you soon.” This did the opposite of worry me, it excited me. For the first time, I was going to meet my God face to face and my heart and muscles couldn’t be depleted of oxygen fast enough so I could get there soon enough. I didn’t think of the things I’d done, the awesome people I’d met, the wicked awesome tv I have, or the accomplishments I’d made…only that I was finally going to see my God. I didn’t think of all the fun exciting things I was going to miss, only that I was finally going to see my God.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere and oxygen was restored, with a few gasps and big breaths, I was not dying, but alive. I don’t remember what happened next, but a few minutes later I woke up.

Then I thought about everything I had dreamt, and was so jacked up to meet God and realized something.

I have no fear of death, I know exactly where I’m going, and that is to see my God face to face, and I cannot wait! While I love the people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve been able to do, this world is a very broken place filled with injustice and hate, and I will not miss this broken world one bit. Then something else dawned on me.

Will the broken, hateful world miss me when I’m gone? Everybody is searching for love, a love that I have found. And do I exude this love to the world around me? What joy do I bring to others? What have I done to help bring this love to this broken world that so dearly needs it?

People are drawn to those who exude peace, joy, happiness, and yes, love. Do I do that? Are people drawn to me? What healing have I brought with the precious love that I have found?

Whoah. There’s the 2x4 that knocks me around to where I can honestly answer, not enough, not nearly enough.

But, as in my dream, I am still alive in this broken world. I can still change that “not enough” to “something.” I can choose to exude peace, and joy, and happiness, and love.

Holy crap, my heart is heavy. Sorry, but I did warn you…I said honest and unfiltered, and that, my friends, was brutally honest.

Until next time,

Go love someone.

Why?

Why in the world would I start a blog? I've been toying with the idea for quite some time now, but have always told myself that there are hundreds of thousands of blogs out there. Are my thoughts and insights any more precious or insightful than the rest? By all means nope, they probably aren't even close.

So why now? What changes my mind now?

Oo, let me tell you why. (Is that how this kinda works? I'm clueless)

A couple weeks ago I spent a couple nights by myself, alone in a little tiny shack with no tv, no internet, no electricity, no noise, nothing but me, my bible, and my journal...and a clean pair of undies of course. I'm a very introverted person, and because of this...I don't make my thoughts, feelings, and all that other gushy girly stuff known to many others at all. All that stuff gets shoved down, and rarely gets let out. Anywho...these two nights I wrote a TON in my journal, it felt good the get my thoughts out on paper, and I believe, that it is healthy for me. So that is why, not because I think I will become a national phenomena with my writing, but because it is good for me. And if there's a few of you who will take interest in what goes on in my head, if I can benefit you in any way...it's available.

Next, let me tell you why my nuggets of nonsense may interest you.

There will be no set curriculum of what I will be blogging about, just what is going on inside of me. The best way for you to get an idea of what the topics may be, I'll tell you who I am and a little tiny bit about me.

I'm Nate. I'm a straight shooter. I'm honest (most of the time). I rarely filter my thoughts. I'm 26. I'm a seminarian (yea...a religious guy). I'm not a religious guy (confusing, but someday I'll flesh that out). I'm engaged to a woman who is a much better person than I, and much better looking too I will say. I have a dog who is nuts. I have a passion for equipping college students to impact the world around them. I love the Twins. I'm a farm kid who got imported to the city. I don't know what else to say.

This blog is a journey I'm excited to start, a tangible way for me to look back and see where I've been and what I've been brought through. I do invite you to come along on this journey with me. Argue with me, I enjoy a good argument...correction: discuss with me, I enjoy a good discussion. Give me tips, like I said, I'm clueless in this whole thing. If I'm being an idiot...tell me I'm being an idiot. I can take it.

Thanks for your interest, or if there is no interest, thanks for your time spent with me.

Until next time.

Nate