Emily's Grace

Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed. ~ Mary Oliver

The Divine Ms. Em sees the world with her eyes, but just as much with her delicate and inquisitive nose. She’s a connoisseur of reading each day. This is during one of her first trips to the Grand Canyon.

No matter the weather, when we first head outside each morning, Samwise is all business. He empties his bladder in two or three healthy markings. He sniffs about the earth to see who has passed by in the hours since we were last outside. Then he heads off into a private space where he moves his bowels. It’s all very dog-like, although the privacy thing is unique to Samwise in the dogs I’ve known.

Emily, on the other hand, is just the opposite. She is in love with the scents carried in the air. If there is a breeze, forget about her moving anything but her head, which she regally tilts, offering up her nose to the delicacies of this world. If we are in a hurry, I have to urge Emily to go about her ‘business’; otherwise, she’ll stand in one place and let the world come around to her. It…