Bully Bully

I've never liked the game "keep away." Aside from the fact that I'm a heavy guy, slow afoot, and as far from agile as can be imagined, this game has always reminded me of my childhood. The big kid down the street would grab my hat, or my school bag, or my Roy Rogers lunch box, and make me chase him to get it back. His name was Donny. Of course, I could never keep up with him for all of the above mentioned reasons. In the process, Donny showed himself to be what we all knew he was: a bully.

One time he stepped on my prize motorized model tank that my Dad and I had put together...my "Battling Betsy." I loved that tank. But Donny stepped on it, and Betsy could battle no more.

The bastard.

Thus, in this man's mind, keep away and bullying all seem to blend together. And, hence the issue.

One of the things that my beloved wife has taught our Dizzy Doodle is the game of keep away. Yes I know that "chase me I have something" is a typical dog game. But for Diz, it seems particularly fun. As it apparently is also for Kathy. Just not for me.

This means that in the evening, if I take the Doodle out for playtime with the frisbee, it's not a game of fetch. It becomes a game of keep away, as the pooch keeps the disc away from Dad. He thinks its the best thing since sliced bread. I think of the neighbor bully, Donny. He has a great time, I get winded (being slow afoot and not agile....) trying to grab the frisbee. He loves to pull, I get muscle pulls in this tug of war.

And now I have to ask myself, is my Doodle a bully? Is my little Dizzy a Donny? OK...that sounds weird. But you know what I mean.

Alright, for Diz it's all in fun. For him its not about bullying, or teasing or making me miserable. He's just in it for a good time.

I guess I can accept that.

The Alzheimer's Association has developed this process called "habilitation." It's about working with caregivers to better understand the person who has the disease. It asks the caregiver to go with the flow, to accept better the reality of the person with Alzheimer's, and try to enter their world. This approach helps bring peace the caregiver, and makes life more amenable for the person with dementia.

Fine. I need to habilitate to Disney. I need to enter his world, and better understand it. But I thought I was the Master? I thought I was the Alpha dog!

No matter. First things first. I need to be sure that Dis just has his fun.

At least, that's what Kathy says.....

Peace!