RED (RUBBER) RAT DOG

I'm always bemused and caught a bit off guard by the oddity of things that trigger 'light bulb moments' for me....

Take red rat dog for example.

How I came to meet red rat dog is a long story, so I'm going to head directly to the interesting part(s). I've never had nor do I at the moment have dog - cats when I was a kid, cat when first married and outside cats now. I'm not 'un-fond' of dogs, just never had one.

As we entered the domain of Red Rubber Rat Dog, I heard barking, but no dog in sight, more barking no dog, louder no dog.

Then, moving at the speed of light appeared an astoundingly energetic daschaund ~ enter "red rat dog"... Tail flying to and fro like a single windshield wiper stuck on high, lol... Once he decided he approved of my DH and I he stopped barking, and after a bit of watching us he vanished, back to his regularly scheduled routine I assumed. But I was wrong. He reappeared in a bit with what was explained to be his prize posession, a red rubber rat chew toy, almost half his size. Most of the middle of the rubber rat's tummy had been chewed out, so it was quite the curious visual, lol...

Red rat dog (not his real name of course but what he'll always be named in MY mind, lol) stood in front of us with his beloved red rat drooping from his mouth, windshield wiper tail going so fast now I felt certain it would fly off his little posterior at any moment.

His owner explained he loves to play fetch with red rat - but there's a trick to the game - 'you'll see' she said and smiled. Sure enough after a few more minutes of studying us, he dropped the rat at our feet and my DH reached out to grab RedRubberRat for a toss.

BUT, red rubber rat dog flew forward and grabbed it first. The process repeated several times (getting a bit funnier with each attempt) till my husband got the timing right and was able to get and toss RRR for a rolicking chase and return :-)

As I watched Red Rat Dogs curious game it struck me how much I had in common with him. He's a contral freak like me, lol.

There's the desire to play, yet the need to set the structure. There's the joy of sharing beloved rat yet needing to be in control of who and when it's released .... A great game, just has to done in rat dogs way.

For me, it's not a queston of contol of a red rubber rat, roflmao, but interestingly, I could see myself in this odd moment of clarity (see I told you gain insight thru the strangest of things!) For me, actually watching Red Rat Dog shone a light on issues such as learning to delegate without too many 'constraints or guidelines...' I had to laugh at both Red rat dog and myself because I do the same thing he does! If something doesn't get done quickly enough or just the way I would do it I snatch it back and do it myself which makes it pretty darn challenging for anyone offering to assist me, be it my accountant, or my advertising rep, my UPS guy, even my DH!

My tail keeps wagging but because I routinely jump in to do the task on MY timeline in MY way, I end up holding the rat most of the time, enjoying the toss and run a lot less often.

My rule, my choice.

I learned a good lesson from RED RAT DOG ...

If the rat sits a moment or two that's ok - there may be more to be said for the toss and the run than red dog or I think. Maybe (just maybe) Red Rat Dog and I should ease up our 'game rules' a bit (grin)... Maybe sometimes life should be less about 'control' and more about fun. A truth that's especially hard for self employed business owner(s) - and perhaps people in general - to remember.

I'll have to get Red Rat Dog a nice treat (maybe a green rubber frog?! lol...)

Hope your day is a good one :-)