Alex and Clive in
Just the Lucky One

I wonder if things happen by chance. Just the roll of the dice and call it luck...

That’s what I was thinking last night while I was finishing the painting – Luck. How lucky I am to have the presence of a dog in my life, most all my life. How lucky I am to be able to convey my feelings in a painting. And how combining both of these has taken me on this path that’s somehow connected me with all of you. 

All of this was probably on my mind because of Laura, Alex’s mother. She told me how, “We talked at length about rescuing a puppy and how we could change a dog's life. How lucky that puppy would be to have us! We would all feed him, take him for walks, train him and clean up after him. Knowing how having a puppy was like having a baby, I was ecstatic I would have help. Mom mistake number one, "we" always meant me - especially with teenage boys involved. But I wouldn't understand the error of my thinking until this lucky dog came into our lives. I did all the we stuff, training, feeding, waking up every two hours to take him out, all the while wondering what I had gotten myself into. The boys did the hikes, the hugs and the snuggles, like the favorite "Uncle's." It was about two days after we rescued him that I realized, I would do it all over again, when I would look at all the love he had for them. This was the moment it hit me like a ton of bricks, and I realized something Clive knew from the moment we picked him up.... he wasn't the lucky one, we were. When life seems too crazy, we hold him and hug him, and thank him for letting us be a part of his life.”

I wonder if not getting what you want is the greatest luck of all. I wonder if luck is believing the other is the lucky one. Maybe it’s that feeling of gratitude that turns what we have into enough...

Are you ready to roll the dice?

©Daune Sheri
June 30, 2020