Atonement

A couple of days ago our little dog took it into her pea brain to speed out the front door and act territorial by barking at a neighbor who was across the street getting her mail. The door’s not normally left open but we were standing in the front yard having a fascinating discussion with a woman who was here to solicit for Amnesty International. The conversation had segued into her telling us about an organization called the Orca Network, which sends phone notifications of where in the area orcas are currently able to be seen. Luna’s never done anything like that and I was stunned. She loves the UPS guy and even occasionally jumps in the mailman’s delivery truck to shower him with dog kisses. Whatever the reason and whatever she sensed, it was an embarrassing situation and I felt terrible, as I happen to know that woman doesn’t like dogs. I immediately went over to the nearby QFC and bought a nice bouquet of flowers as an apology. When I stopped to deliver them, no one answered the door at her house. I tried again in the evening, again with no response. I tried not to feel paranoid, thinking the woman might not be answering the door when she saw it was me. I tried once more the next day and finally gave up, deciding to enjoy the flowers in a sunny spot on my own kitchen table…………….until this morning when I saw the woman’s husband getting ready to take off in his truck. I barreled down the street with my forgiveness bouquet and explained they were for his wife from Luna, who wanted to apologize for acting like such a jerk. He said only that his wife had “mentioned she was barked at” but he smiled a huge smile and thanked me several times for being so gracious. Admittedly, I stole the atonement idea from an Anne Lamott essay I read several years ago but I think it was good advice!

Here’s a link to the essay by Anne Lamott:

https://www.salon.com/2005/12/05/carpet_guy/

Image courtesy JACLOU-DL at Pisabay.com