As you can imagine, this week has felt a little bit full. With Callie Dog’s passing early Tuesday and keeping kids home from school so they could “grieve” (which looked an awful lot like playing and bickering and researching breeds for our NEXT dog), I had to spend Wednesday and today catching up.

So I’ll just share a few random updates:

I got the call from the “Deceased Pet Service” telling me that Callie’s ashes were ready for pickup. (I know, you might be wondering, “Did she really pay to have her dog cremated?” Yes. Yes I did.) So, since the earliest I can get there is Monday, we have the weekend to come up with a suitable funeral ceremony for Dogalicious. I’m pretty sure it’ll include playing “Taps” on the horns the kids made out of PVC pipes last year.

And I’d say we’re all handling the grief pretty well. Everyone has their “I miss Callie” moments, but the kids really are excited about getting a PUPPY that they can PLAY WITH and HOLD IN THEIR HANDS, etc, etc. And Charlie and I feel a good bit of relief: for Callie’s pain and confusion, and for our poor mistreated wall-to-wall carpeting.

(I don’t think I’ve told the story of Callie and the Mysterious Poo Presents. I’ll cut to the chase and just say that for the past six months, Callie had been poo-incontinent. One poo in the house EVERY DAY, whether she needed to or not. Yeah. I loved that dog, but I’m not sad to see the poo depart.)

In other news, tomorrow (Friday) I get to put on real business clothes and hang out at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast event in downtown Atlanta. It’s a work gig, so I’ll probably spend most of my time in the Green Room with the boss. But I’m excited to meet some famous people: Tony Dungy, Jim Collins, Chip Heath, CNN anchor Sachi Koto, and the most famous person of all: Tripp Crosby. (Actually I met him at this event last year, but he probably doesn’t remember me.)

Just for fun, here’s my second degree of separation from Tripp: his “interview” with my boss, John Maxwell:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Moving on…

Bunnies have already invaded our brand-new vegetable garden, eating some cabbages down to the ground. That reminds me: I still have to share with you about the tasty gift Bob the Dog got for Easter.  Hint: He rid the world of at least one small cabbage-eater. And carried it around the yard. Offering it to the human members of the family, whether we wanted it or not.

The weather’s gorgeous today, so I spent some time on my new Thinking Hammock. Unfortunately, all I thought about was sunshine and leaves and birds singing and zzzZZZZZZ…

But I’m sure that my time in that spot will yield the next Great American Novel. Eventually.

So that’s what’s new with me. What’s new witchu?

Weekday update: with recurrent poo, bunnies, and a leadership guru is originally posted at: The Red Clay Diaries - Rambling down the dirt road of life Copyright 2007-2011. Use only with permission. Follow me on Twitter. I'm redclaydiaries