My Two Cents Worth

Yesterday the bananas in the reduced bin at the Farmer's Market were on for 29 cents a pound. I love banana bread so of course I picked some up! Still, it doesn't seem all that long ago that I would have thought 29 cents much too much and would have waited until they went on sale. Of course I'm also old enough to remember when coffee and butter were both under a dollar a pound. For a real pound.
At the end of the day, when things go up in price, each and everyone of us have decisions to make. When cigarettes became more expensive, some gave them up while others started 'rolling'. Still others kept smoking and cut back elsewhere. When coffee went over a dollar a pound, most of us still kept drinking it - in fact my Granny would weep to see what I pay for Free Trade Coffee these days!
Like everyone else, over the years I've spent some of my money sensibly and some of it foolishly. For instance, I wouldn't be without my tiller and my woodstove. But after one winter of sitting out back and waving at the coyotes, I got tired of the hot tub and sold it : )))
No matter what anyone else may have thought, it has always been money well spent on the furkids. When I was posted at the military cooking school, I used to teach nutrition, so I know how important good food is for good health. It is poor economy to feed our pets cheap food and anyone who does skimp on food will very likely reap the results with health issues.
I admit that I do spend more getting McG groomed than I do getting my own hair trimmed - but people shouldn't have terriers if they aren't willing to do that. And yes, he has a full wardrobe of coats and boots for every season. In time, when Ruby and Henry outgrow the need to treat their scarves as pull toys they will very likely have wardrobes of their own too : ))))
One could add up the cost of dog beds and seat belts and gentle leaders. One could even add in heart pills and arthritis meds if one wanted to nitpick.
But none of those things would be worth a tinkers dam if we don't give our pets the thing they need most - our love and our time. If they could make a wish list, it wouldn't be for toys or even for treats. It would be that the people who bring them home and into their lives have time for them. Time to play and time to just hang out.
If we could really listen to them, pets would tell us they do not want to be shut away from their people. Every cruel thing that is done to the animals starts by overlooking the most basic thing - that our pets are living, breathing sentient beings who need to be in the company of the people they love.
Every day we all make decisions. Are they good ones or bad ones, who is to say. I have been surprised at how many folks have been reading my blog - I had no idea until I closed down the old blog. I have been touched by your concern... some of which has even come from those I most disagree with.
The plain fact is that the Celtic New Year was a good day to pick a better path. I had painted myself into a corner with the old blog and too many people had misinterpreted my giving the society breathing room as being unconditional support for everything they have or have not done.
My giving them a period of grace does not mean I am prepared to defend them on all issues. It means that in days to come that I do not want to be the reason that those working for the New Path cannot garner the support that they need. They may not be doing everything I would like to see right now, but they are trying their darnedst about some things.
In my books, that counts for something. And thats my two cents worth.