Zen and the Art of Speedskating

Posted on 11 Sep 08:15 pm

Moments of Pure Awesomeness

Dear RZ,

Displaying great determination in the past 2 days, you have learned how to stand, and can now do it without support for some time. Walking is not far behind.

Maybe someday it might mean something that you started standing on your own the same week that the short trackers had their Olympic trials. This probably won’t matter to you, but I’ll always remember.

What you do really need to know is that one of your favorite things to stand up against, or on, or crawl over, is our dog Lilly. Lilly tolerates your babyness the way loyal dogs have for ages.

However, Lilly should not be here for you to lean on. She was neglected & abused before being turned into the Ithaca Humane society as a young adult, and she was one very aggressive scary mess of a barking, snarling dog when she arrived there.

She was people aggressive, dog aggressive, was an escape artist, and evidently dug her way out of a concrete & wire pen.

In most humane societies, Lilly would have gone straight into the dead dog pile. But a volunteer took her in, and worked with Lilly for months before we met her. By then she was just a semi-scary mess, but you could see the possiblity of the dog she could become.

We took a chance.

Even so, it was YEARS of training & work before we would have trusted her with a baby who pulls ears, fur, her leash, her jingly collar, etc. Now we trust her completely. Lilly would die for you, in a split second. This is what dogs are.

So know this. Life is a really long road, sometimes you walk, sometimes crawl, sometimes even run, bike & skate on the good days. And you will do most of this alone. Lilly will not always be with you. Nor will I.

But always remember that you took your first steps with a fistful of Lilly’s fur, a dog who was given every reason to hate people, but learned to trust again, love again, and made everything from her second chance.

Love,

Daddy

Filed under: from home

16 Responses to “Moments of Pure Awesomeness”

Teri, on September 11th, 2009 at 9:10 pm Said:

Awesome!
Katy Gottschalk, on September 12th, 2009 at 4:38 am Said:

A beautiful, beautiful tribute, one that RZ is going to treasure. Katy
Sue and Tony, on September 12th, 2009 at 5:17 am Said:

Great pictures Andrew. She will treasure these for years to come.
Susan, on September 12th, 2009 at 6:53 am Said:

Don’t make me cry before coffee ;’)
Ellie Schaibly, on September 12th, 2009 at 7:47 am Said:

I’m glad you’re my cousin. And I’m glad you can stand up and almost walk. You are cute and funny!
Ingrid Johnson, on September 12th, 2009 at 8:19 am Said:

Thanks for sharing a touchng and beautiful story! Your daughter is lucky to have a Dad like you!
Jote, on September 12th, 2009 at 10:05 am Said:

Andrew…what a beautiful thing to read.
Lisa, on September 12th, 2009 at 6:03 pm Said:

OOH, I am so choked up. This was an incredible letter.

I hope that RZ comes across this accidentally when she is in the throws of being a teenager or when she really needs to hear it. My dad kept a journal of my first three years that I found when I was in HS while I was cleaning his place. I was so touched. It opened my eyes to a side of him I never knew. I cherish that book to this day.

BTW I love the picture of her and lilly looking at the lake.
LINA, on September 12th, 2009 at 9:40 pm Said:

Short Track en Ushuaia

Ushuaia tiene pista de patín artificial reglamentaria
En el día de ayer 11 de septiembre el equipo selectivo de patín de velocidad sobre hielo en hora de la mañana pudo probar la pista de hielo junto a las integrantes de patín de artístico.
El clima acompaño la mañana y en excelentes condiciones los chicos cambiaron ruedas por cuchillas y se deslizaron por nuestra hermosa pista la felicidad es inmensa en ver un sueño tan anhelado echo realidad , la jornada de fiesta continuo con el acto oficial realizado por la municipalidad de Ushuaia en el cual el Señor Intentendente realizo el corte de cintas con palabras alusivas en las cuales se destaca que esta pista es rememorativa de una actividad que en los comienzos de nuestra ciudad se realizaba patín por recreación en la denominada Bahía encerrada y que la población se divertía sociabilizaba y realizaba deporte con esta actividad, esta infraestructura es un bien de todos que debemos cuidar y que disfrutaríamos con mucho placer!! Que se seguiría trabajando en mejoras en la pista para poder desarrollar los deportes de invierno destaco las disciplina de patín de velocidad, artístico y jockey, estaba muy contento por esta ocasión, luego de esta palabras ya estaba con sus patines puestos e ingresó patinando dando una vueltita en la cual el publico festejo con un muy fuerte aplauso.
Obviamente la Escuela de Patín Nora Vega estuvo presente demostrando la disciplina del patinaje de velocidad en su modalidad Short Track (pista corta ) con sus representantes Federico Chaves , Gaston Chaves ,Agustina Torres ,Luciana Sosa, Agustín Soñes.
En artístico estuvieron presentes Micaela Riveros, Barbara Garcia Smit, Mara Corvino.
La jornada se cerro con una suelta de globos y el ingreso de todos los niños patinando y disfrutando de esta gran fiesta comunitaria!!

www.patinushuaia.com
Rebecca, on September 13th, 2009 at 2:14 am Said:

Andrew and Jess, such beautiful work you guys have done with Lilly, with RZ, with the photos and writing here. Thanks so much for sharing it!

I also love that Evan and Susan’s Ellie is now writing to RZ online. Wow! Time is moving so fast…

Much, much love to all of you!
Rebecky
andrew, on September 13th, 2009 at 8:59 am Said:

Wow, deepest thanks all… I am moved by the comments…

This post practically wrote itself… As a writer, I do believe in the idea of the “muse”, as sometimes it’s not you creating, you are just a camera trying to take a picture of what is true. Someone else is writing.

One practical thing I want to add is a training thing we did with Lilly– When you have a dog that is DEEPLY scared of strangers, our “trick” was to have a bowl of super-awesome dog treats (snausages, to be exact) OUTSIDE our front door.

Only strangers ever gave Lilly these particular awesome treats. Jessica & I never did. It took a while, but Lilly quickly started to figure out that strangers could mean good things for her.

If lilly saw someone & went into freak out mode (especially thin, tall men with grey hair) we would ask that person to give her a treat.

Over time, it truly worked.

One final thought was an additional facet to the risk Jessica took adopting an occasionally aggressive & scary 75-lb dog while she was in vet school.

We talked about this at the time, it was kind of like a gun-control advocate owning a machine gun that might accidentally fire.

We are so glad we did.
Mike van Erp, on September 13th, 2009 at 1:18 pm Said:

Wow Andrew, an amazing post! It really hits home too, as we have a little munchkin that must be of a similar age @ nearly 1.
Kelly P, on September 15th, 2009 at 3:44 am Said:

What a beautiful post. I love the beaming smile that RZ has in pic 5, and the one of her and Lilly by the lake looks like two best friends sharing a secret. I bet it’s the secret of love and happiness.
Peter Doucet, on September 15th, 2009 at 6:35 pm Said:

Extremely well written Andrew- I read this over a few times thanks a lot.
Andrew Love- Imperfection, Awesomeness, Convergence – Speed Skate World- By Peter Doucet- Online Since 1999, on September 15th, 2009 at 7:01 pm Said:

[…] Moments of Pure Awesomeness […]
Uncle Dave, on January 24th, 2012 at 10:28 pm Said:

Your parents, unknowing the future (least of all you) somehow knew that within all the problems Lily had was a faithful, affectionate companion for a little girl.
They worked and tolerated until Lily was ready and then like a miracle, along came you.
This may be the time everyone needs to say goodbye to Lily, just as the time comes for all of us to leave this life. If it is, I hope you remember her just as she was: gentle, quiet, strong.