Run, Breaker, run ...

Doggie update:

Four weeks. Five breakouts (maybe more, I've lost count). That's Breaker's record so far.

And Patrick called a little before 5 p.m. yesterday to let me know that Breaker was loose, dragging his leash behind him. It's so strange that a creature that is so doting, that follows Patrick and me around the house like a precious shadow and snuggles in the evenings and the same dog that groggily plods down the hallway to get a drink in the morning suddenly becomes a wild animal. One whiff of fresh air and he loses all sense and all smarts, all loyalty. We should have named him Forrest. I've never seen a dog run like that.

Is this how one party feels when couples end up in divorce -- confined and crazed by the temptation to run away? Is it possible to foster a partnership (with man or beast) in which neither party ever feels that primal instinct to "run!"? In the end, I think we all feel temptation and cabin fever every once in a while with the status quo of our lives. But, I find consolation in knowing that even those who yearn to run away want the comfort and safety of home.

About 20 minutes after Breaker made his run for it, Patrick heard a few yelps and barks coming from the wooded part of our yard. There he found our big black lab tangled, his leash wrapped around a tree trunk. "Come get me," he barked to his faithful owner. And he knew Patrick would come and take him home, wrap him in his arms, and love him just the same.

I hope my marriage, friendships, and (one day) my own family will be filled with the same kind of unconditional welcome and forgiveness.