I MISS THAT DOGGY IN THE WINDOW....

At a floor-to-ceiling window in my home library, there's a flat spot on the hardwood floor. It's the only space along that floor that doesn't shine.

The shine was worn away over the years by family dogs---first Lady and then Jack---who spent a lot of time lying at that window watching the world go by.

Every day in every season, we humans would sit and sip our coffee in that room, and a dog was always at that window near us. It was a comfort we enjoyed, the dog and its people; it's a comfort we haven't enjoyed since our "doberperson" Jack's death in 2009.

Sometimes my husband Bob will say to me, "We need to sand that section of the floor and restore the finish."

And I will always answer, "I don't want to do that. That flat spot is a memory, and I won't let it go."

So the flat spot will remain without its former shine. A souvenir of something special in our lives.

---Rose M., April 21, 20ll