against cynicism

I can neglect friends because I'm too focused on projects. I can fail to thank the good folks. Get sad for no good reason. Be lazy. Act insolent. Bitch about you. And as I sink into all that, I can start to believe that the day drifts past with a windburning indifference to me, that I'll be gone before I know it, and that there's nothing I can do about it. And maybe some or all of that is true.

But for all that and countless other reasons, today is the day I adopt my Stella Nansal. A dog--The Dog--to remind me of everything sweet and enjoyable, to teach me the way back to kid happiness, to put a little swerve in this, my driven momentum. I am up for a lesson about loving everyone around me more. It's time. And really, once I met her, going on without Stella would be like that bumper sticker that my dear, jaded compadre Cdubs abhors: a day without fairies is like a day without sunshine. He hated this sticker so much, in fact, he packed up and moved from the city in which he saw it. Immediately.

Me? I'll say it, sure. A day without Stellagirl is like a day without air. I'ma gonna go ahead and give in to the schmaltz. I'ma learn to appreciate what's around me for a while. I mean, what's so wrong with sentimental, anyway?

Congratulations to us. May we be together a long time and chase lots of squirrels and eat lots of cookies and biscuits.