There are geese in the little pond behind my house. The number varies, anywhere from three to a whole bunch. My first thought when I saw the geese was . . . poop. Face it, geese poop. A lot. And my little white dog loves to roll in it, which makes him become my little white-and-goose-poop-green dog. So, when I first saw the geese, all I could think about was how much I dreaded the poop.
It turns out that the geese are great fun. A solitary goose paddling in the pond makes it a much more interesting pond to watch. When we sit on our deck and watch the sunset, the geese will sometimes fly low over our house. That makes my dog bark, the same way that a bunch of geese honking makes him bark. Since he’s an only dog, I’m glad that he has the opportunity to bark another species from time to time. The other night at sunset, about twenty geese marched single file in a long line through the neighbor’s yard, presumably off to tuck into bed. I thought that was a good idea and marched myself off to bed before long.
Often, something that I dread will turn out to be something that brings unexpected joy to my life. A mandatory grocery store run enables me to see a beautiful sky as I am driving. A pastoral call when I’m tired and ready for home becomes one of those moments where I receive much more than I give. And, yes, geese in my little pond. There's some poop, true, but mainly I know once again that unexpected blessings abound . . .
