Moments from Mondays Gone by...

This morning, as I was reading through some of the blogs that I follow, I noticed that there were a couple of stories involving dogs.  That got me thinking about the dogs we had growing up so I have decided to share a "dog" memory.

Now, we had several dogs growing up and they were all unique...but there was one dog in particular...well, he was special...

His name was Zach.  Zaccheus, actually, because when Dad brought him home the only thing we had to tie him to was a Sycamore tree.  He was a black lab puppy that, before we knew it, turned into a black lab dog.  He was strong and full of energy...uprooting the young Sycamore tree, then tipping over the big swing set (the next thing he was tied to) and then separating the porch from the house...

But before I share this particular memory, I must preface it by saying:

I have a temper.

Some people hear me say that and are shocked.  "I've never even seen you get angry," they say.  That's because I am Christian ADULT who believes in practicing self-control.  But seriously, I have red hair...and I'm Irish...it's kind of a no-brainer.  However, I did not always practice self-control.  In fact, when I was young, I very rarely practiced self-control.

So anyway, I am coming home from school one day (I was about 12) and it was a bad day...maybe...at least I like to think I was already having an awful day because it makes my reaction seem a little less...insane...
Zach is all excited because now there are kids and kids means he will be let loose and he can play.  Even as it was happening, I knew that he didn't do it on purpose, but... he was soooo excited to see me and he's barking and jumping around and (when I got close enough) putting his paws on my chest and trying to lick my face...and he bit me.

It was just a nip, really.  But, evidently, it was enough, because...









I bit him back.





Yes.  I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and chomped.  Through the haze of my anger I hear my mother yell, "Janet Lorraine Roach! Get that dog out of your mouth!"  Or something to that effect.  Zach and I stood there looking at each other with petulant glares before each going to our separate rooms to sulk although my sulk lasted a lot longer than his did.  That is one of the best things about a dog...they don't hold grudges.  Still to this day, I wonder what the neighbors were thinking?...





Oh. And if YOU are wondering what I was thinking?...well...I wasn't.  Eventually, I learned to control my temper but I just have to chuckle sometimes, because, when I get angry, my first reaction is still wanting to "bite" something.  But I stick to gum these days.