And so we start another decade, the third decade of the twenty-first century. The real excruciatingly pedantic date police (the ones who tweet REALLY LOUD on Twitter) want us to call 2021 the start of the third decade, but I hew to a different regex rule: the decade is of the form 20[0-9][0-9], such that if its the current decade, then it’s any year in the pattern 202[0-9], meaning 2020 is part of the third decade of the twenty-first century. I’m so glad we cleared that up.

Today it’s Annie’s turn to be photographed. Annie’s a big four-year-old Doodle who will turn a big five in February on Valentine’s Day. Annie is our Special Needs Doodle. She’s OK most of the time, but every once in a while she goes crazy seeking assurances we love her. I don’t know why she has the moments of strong anxiety or what triggers them, but she gets them. The pass quickly and then she’s back to where her calm Labrador Retriever side takes control. She can be so sweet, and when she’s over on her back with her brisket bare for rubs, I look down and see that white heart-shaped marking and my heart melts just a little. It was that marking that inspired Annie’s name; the rock group Heart’s “Dreamboat Annie”, or just Annie.

Many is the time where Annie likes to just sit quietly at the screen door, looking out into her big back yard. When she’s ready to go out she comes and lets me know, bumping me with her nose and then walking to the door where she turns back to look at me. Non-verbal communication, but quite clear to me.

Now that I’m staying home a whole lot more, both Annie and I look forward to spending more time communicating and sharing life together. She along with her big sister Ruby, and of course with the two Gingersnaps. All four are totally chill with one another.