This might sound like a gloomy post, but for the past few days when I’ve been walking Boomer, I’m reminded of beauty in this time of year.

Leaves on the ground

Just look at those beautiful fall colors on the leaves.  Below it, you can see brilliant, green grass.  A few years ago, we had friends visiting from Africa.  They came in December and were curious about what type of grass the Dutch people planted during the winter.  I didn’t know what they were talking about.  They said, “You know, what kind of grass is it?  It’s so green and it’s wintertime.”  I had been taking it for granted.  We have the same beautiful, green grass all year.  I had a Dutch friend who told me once that there might be a lot of clouds and rain here, but it helps keep the grass beautiful and helps beautiful flowers show up in the spring.

path during autumn

It might be getting a bit cooler outside, but I still enjoy taking Boomer for our daily walks.  If you see the beautiful path where we walk, you would probably enjoy it also.  So, if I can find something beautiful in all these things, maybe I can find something positive about getting into a freezing cold bed for the next few months.  :)

We definitely weren’t your typical dog owners at the beginning.  We didn’t take our dog for as many walks as most people around here did.  We were happy to let him out in the back yard to do what he needed to do.  In the last few years, I’ve learned to really enjoy taking Boomer for a daily walk.  During the week, we walk for 1.5 miles and on the weekends, we bump it up to 2 miles.  It’s something he very much likes to do.  During these outings, I realized that I slowly had become part of the dog-owning subculture or “one of them.”

In the beginning, I never let Boomer off his leash.  Inside our house, he was apt to bark at anything – especially dogs – that walked by.  He also wasn’t the most obedient.  I was afraid that if I let him loose, I’d never get him back.  Plus, he constantly pulled trying to get to other dogs.  I only saw the bad that could come from that.  I eventually got to the point that I started letting him loose, but only in certain areas where everyone else did.  I started to encounter the same people/dogs everyday.  It reminded me a bit of children’s church.  While I might know all the kids’ names, I have a hard time with their parents’ names.  I found myself talking to the dogs and calling them by name but having no clue as to the owners’ names.

One day, I met a lady walking her dog.  Sometime into our conversation, here’s what was said:

Her – “Ben je een Nederlander?” (Are you Dutch)

Me – “Nee, ik kom uit Amerika.” (No, I’m from America.)

Her – “I’m English!”

Since then, when I see Harvey (I still don’t know her name), I immediately speak English.

Not too long ago, while Boomer and I were out for our walk, I came across someone with their dogs that I’d never seen before.  I went a little further and ran across my neighbor.  Yes, I do know his name.  :)  As we were talking, he pointed to the other man with his dogs and asked me if I knew them.  I said, “No, I’ve never seen them walking around here before.”  It hit me then: I’ve become one of them.  I’ve found that when I’m jogging, other joggers greet me like we’re great friends.  When I’m walking my dog, I really have built relationships because of Boomer.

Last week, Boomer had to have surgery to remove stones from his bladder.  He has stitches and isn’t allowed to scratch them.  In the house, he has to wear a t-shirt that is more like a onesie.  It even has snaps that go on either side of his tail.  It’s better for him than a cone, but it’s a bit of a hassle for us at times.

Boomer's onesie

When I’m taking him for a walk, it’s definitely in the way, so I take it off.  Until the stitches come out, he has to stay on his leash while on walks.  I feel like we’ve stepped back in time when I was afraid to let him loose.  I’m also concerned with what the other owners will say.  Yep, I’m definitely “one of them!”

Grace at the museum

Leaves are changing and falling to the ground.  It’s beautiful until I have to clean up the yard.

Front Yard

Our time changed last week.  That means that we leave for school in daylight now, but it won’t be long before we’ll be leaving in darkness again.  I really don’t like having to turn on lights or start candles at 4:30, but that’s how it is.  I honestly expected it to be colder than it has been by now.  There were a few days a few weeks ago that I had to scrape ice off the windshields before leaving in the morning, but it’s been pretty nice since then.

It has cooled off a little though.  You know it’s cold in the house when our dog likes to be covered up.  I guess it could be because of the cold or that he’s terribly spoiled or ridiculous.  You can take your pick.

We should've named this dog Linus

This was a balloon some friends gave Grace.  It says Welkom Thuis/Welcome Home.  It has some very typical Dutch things on it.

When we got home, one of the life groups from our church had food and flowers waiting on us.  What a pleasant surprise!  We also had a very special guest waiting on us, our dog, Boomer!!!

He has been with friends here for 14 months.  We thought that it would be some time of adjustment for him and us as well, but he acted as if he had never been gone from us.  He ran straight to Grace and they loved spending some time with each other.  He had almost all of the same old habits – including running when he heard the ice maker.  Boomer loves to crunch on ice.

Today, we got to spend some time at the beach with great friends.  Grace got to enjoy some of her favorite things from The Netherlands.

I can’t tell you how many pictures I have just like this!  She also got to enjoy one of her absolute favorite things – Italian ice cream (coconut flavored).

I won’t lie.  I had some too.  We also got to learn a little bit about how to play Cricket.  Playing in the sand wasn’t always the easiest, but it was really fun!  If you look in the background, you can see that Grace was more interested in making a castle than playing cricket.