Nutmeg the Dog

 Nutmeg the Dog

My family has many possessions: cars, toys, food, electronics, and many more. However, we do not think about these on a daily basis unless they cause a problem, and then we think of them only negatively. All these modern luxuries are taken for granted despite how useful and entertaining they are. However, one possession that can’t be taken for granted, and something that brings us all closer together, is our dog, Nutmeg. She requires care every day to feed her, take her on walks, and play with her. This requires a level of attention scarcely present for anything else that we own, and brings our family together in a way not much else can.

We got her about 4 years ago, and the whole process was a difficult one. First, there was the long drive to the breeder's house, a trip which we made as a family. Once we brought her home, she was naturally scared of all the new people, and was a pain to do anything with. She wasn’t trained yet, and our house was her bathroom. Walks were agonizingly slow, and often she wouldn’t go at all. The issues continued as we brought her to a vet, and discovered that she had both ear mites and a heart murmur, both of which are issues that could have been disclosed to us had the breeder been a responsible one. We were even considering sending her back, not wanting to deal with all the problems that accompanied having a puppy, especially a sick one.

However, after the initial period of fright and wariness, she warmed up to us, cuddling on the couch when we watched TV, or lazing around the house just looking adorable. The ear mites and the heart murmur were resolved, and we had become attached. She still required care and attention, as all dogs do, but our work was rewarded, with her becoming a delightful and trouble-free pet. She now loves to run in the grass, snuggle up to us when we are watching TV, and will even go pretty much anywhere with us, even on long hikes through the woods.

Unlike something material, like a piece of jewelry passed down for generations, having a dog is something that requires effort. The care brings each member of my family closer together, during both the good times and the hard times. When things with her were difficult, we worked hard to improve the situation, and only grew more attached. She had already progressed so far regarding many of our issues, and giving up now would be a travesty. I think that people will value anything that they have put a lot of time into over something that they haven’t. For example, I wouldn’t value a manufactured vase as much as one made with my own hands. Our dog is something that we have put time and effort into, leading to a stronger attachment and commitment for the future.

Despite technically being a "possession", having a dog is having a special, ongoing experience, and so many memories that my family has made have been with Nutmeg. She is a lovely reminder of the past and a family member to share new experiences with. The time necessary to care for our dog is more than worth it. The value that she brings to the family can’t be replaced, making Nutmeg my family’s most treasured possession.

Nutmeg Contemplates Life

Here are some objects that show how quickly my interests change 👍

    My room contains countless trinkets, toys, and oddities, with each one offering a glimpse into a certain phase of my life. Under the bed, you can find my swim team gear, boxes of snap circuits, a toy crane truck, and my first laptop. In my closet, there are model airplanes, Nerf guns, electronics, and Legos. Each of these items sits there, unused, but not forgotten, with each one telling of a different experience. However, amongst the unused are an array of things I find myself using quite often. The Nerf guns hail a time when all I wanted was a motorized blaster, even if my siblings didn’t want to get hit by one. I spent countless hours researching, watching videos online, and looking at Amazon to try to figure out the one that I wanted and what accessories to outfit it with. Despite the lack of potential targets, I was enamored by them.

     Another set of objects is from a difficult time for many, yet a nostalgic one for me. The electronics kit in my closet and the laptop under my bed remain from the beginning of 6th grade during the Covid-19 pandemic. I used this laptop for doing all my classwork, for programming the Arduino in my electronics kit, and to connect to Zoom for online school. I even hooked up a second monitor to it, something that most students didn’t have. This allowed me to browse parts for a new computer I wanted to build while still appearing to be paying attention in class. It was a fantastic combo for goofing off in class. It especially helped that I wasn’t using the school-provided Chromebook, allowing me to visit whatever websites I wanted. This was also my first experience being in control of my device, enabling me to use the Arduino I had for various little projects. Additionally, I wrote my first Python code on this laptop, starting a long-term interest in programming that hasn’t waned like some others.

    The sheer variety of objects in my room tells a story of constantly shifting interests, with some closely related and some wildly different. I find that it's so easy to forget topics that we dearly loved in the past when moving to other fascinations, so looking back through time can provide a wonderful experience. I have sometimes found hours of enjoyment exploring things in my closet or under my bed that I would never have remembered if I didn’t need to go looking there. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on how I’ve changed as a person throughout the years, with early interests such as Legos and Nerf guns slowly shifting to a love of the more complex. Nothing ever sticks too long, though, sometimes lasting months, but it’s not uncommon to be just weeks or even days before something else takes hold. While this pattern of changing interests often provides a lot of diversity in my life, it can also become a trap of discontent with what I have and lead to a desire for more. For example, about 50% of the time I was interested in cars was spent looking for deals on Facebook Marketplace, despite knowing there wasn’t a chance for me to get one.

    Remembering the little experiences is a challenge for many people, but it can be so valuable to see how far I’ve come since the time when these objects were relevant. Even if the object is unrelated, it can still bring up powerful memories of my thoughts and feelings at that time. Using objects from the past to look back is something I think more people should do. In hard times, it can bring joy to know that the world hasn’t always and won't always be this way, which is something that a lot of people might need right now.