MUSINGS ON A BIRTHDAY

Bess was born a German Shorthair Pointer on April 29, 2013, the only girl amongst a lot of brothers – that is, until later in the evening when her mom gave birth to another girl. Because of that other girl, we were allowed to take Bess. (The breeder had first pick of the females.)

So, today is Bess’ first birthday. I guess she’s about seven in human years, and I suppose that’s about right. It’s hard to judge her mental age – what she knows or doesn’t – since she doesn’t think like a human. We’ve been through a whole year of “firsts” as she learned all about the world around her. But sometimes I wonder if she was born knowing all about the world and we’re the ones who have to learn.

I thought of baking a cake in Bess’ honor today, and indeed, I probably will bake a cake, but I decided to drop the whole “Bess” thing. We’ve never celebrated any dog’s birthday before, except maybe to just remark about it, and now is not the time to begin.

Bess’ birthdate of April 29 is easy to remember since it was my dad’s birthday. He was born in 1904 at the family homestead at Gilbert, the same homestead where we maintain a home. By the time my dad joined the Julian and Ina Dobson family, the farm operation was well established and my grandfather had received his land patent. They had already been at Gilbert for eight years.

Well, it was a long time ago, you know, but we’re fortunate that little things were saved and cherished, like my dad’s collection of postcards. There were ten that honored his birthdays, and I suspect that those constituted his gifts. I never asked and no one ever said.

Okay – so any cake baked today will not be a birthday cake, but I did change the horribly outdated (but heartwarming) slideshow to reflect my dad’s collection of birthday postcards. What I notice about them is that with the exception of two, they are decidedly feminine and a couple of them are even romantic. But – people shared what they had.

On the back of the picture that illustrates this post is written: “Vance Dobson from sister Ethel. April 29, 1909, age 5 years. Many happy of the day.” Daddy was five; Ethel was about ten. It’s just a picture, perhaps torn from a book, the kind of gift given when money and goods are scarce. KW

[The photos show Bess at six weeks and again as she appears today.]