Lenten Reflection: March 21

"Give us this day our daily bread."
--The Lord's Prayer

My reflection: Each  morning, the alarm goes off at 6 am. I drag my carcass out of bed, let Lily outside and wander down stairs to say hello to JB. I then turn back around, go upstairs, let Lily inside, then lock her in the kitchen while I make JB some lunch. After JB gets sent off to school, is in Lily's mind, the best moment of the day, because it means she gets to eat breakfast. If I drive JB to the bus stop, Lily will wait with her tush on the air vent for me to return. She will then begin her bulldog happy dance. Prancing, and twisting and snorting, all in anticipation of the greatest thing ever, her breakfast. If I don't get to it right away, she begins to cry. Just a subtle little whine to remind me that I have forgotten to give her the greatest thing ever, her breakfast. The happy dance increases in exuberance as I pick up her metal bowl, scoop out her food and place it in front of her. She has learned that she must wait to begin eating until I tell her she can begin, because she has been known to try and eat all the food before I can even set the bowl down. So she waits. And she drools. And she waits some more, and she is trying so hard not to pounce the bowl, but waiting is soooooo hard. And she waits even loooonger, for what seems like an eternity (about 1.5 seconds) until I tell her "ok" and she pounces the bowl and inhales the food, and whew. that was the greatest breakfast EVER! And we repeat the happy dance at the greatest thing ever, dinner, and again in the morning for the greatest thing ever, breakfast......and so it continues. Eating is her most favorite activity, paws down.  In fact, there isn't much Miss Lily won't do for a bit of food. She is HIGHLY food motivated.

For most people, operant conditioning, and using food as a reward is just a simple part of our daily lives. When I was a child, we celebrated dance recitals with an ice cream cone, we continue to celebrate birthday's with cake, and hold barbecues and parties for graduations, weddings, holidays, etc. Food makes us happy. For Miss Lily, however, food is more than just something that makes her feel good when her belly is full. It is an obsession. She will do ANYTHING to get it. She has learned many "tricks," will walk on top of a four foot wall like a cat, she will even run a full mile on the treadmill, all for a handful of doggie treats.

I must admit, I don't think there is anything I would run a mile for every.single.day with the pure excitement of getting it, as Lily does for a 3 calorie dog biscuit. I love yarn, but would I happily run a mile every single day for a new ball at the end of it? Nope. Not a chance. For Lily, "Give me my daily bread" is  her heart's honest plea. Receiving it is her greatest joy. When she does something for a treat, she is "all in." Focused, enthusiastic, and delighted with the result. Sometimes, I wonder, how much happier my life could be if I even put half of the enthusiasm into a project as Lily does into her work of obtaining food. If I focused on today's knitting project as being the greatest knitting project ever, or folding today's laundry as the best laundry folding day, ever, I bet things would feel a little brighter at the end of the day. It 's worth trying for a while. And if it doesn't work, I can always drown my sorrows in a tub of Aggie ice cream.