saturday morning, and i just yelled at the dogs. now blaze is curled up next to me, looking repentant. odie (who spent the night with us while his owner went to a halloween party) is hiding out in the living room, and also torturing the cat when the opportunity presents itself. am i turning into a crazy lady, talking about the animals constantly? really, they've been amazing as i've been figuring out how to rebuild my heart. blaze and sophie don't ask for much beyond food and a walk now and then. they're always ready to drop whatever they're doing at a moment's notice to play with me. they love even when i yell or don't give them quite enough attention. i should be a friend more like them. oh - they also make great bed partners! i can understand why animals are used so often as therapeutic tools. yesterday in the midst of my stomach virus, i watched oprah. she was talking with people who had a single "life-changing moment." one woman got a divorce, and her friend told her to "get either a dog or a therapist." she got a dog, turned her dog into a celebrity, and is now a multi-millionaire...yadda, yadda...anyway, i know that blaze and sophie are only animals, but i also have this realization that i am responsible for lives beyond my own. (i've actually been thinking of guardians for them, in the event that i would move back to india or another country.) but really, aren't we all responsible for each other? in this family we call the body of christ, and in the larger family of humanity, how often do we realize that our responsibility goes far beyond our own lives? on the flip side, how often do we want to allow others to be invested in caring for us? i admit that i find it much easier to think that i can care for myself without "burdening" anyone else, in spite of all of my ideals about community and family and interdependence...it requires too much death to my pride...