Over the weekend, we rented the movie Lars and the Real Girl via Netflix. Here’s a link to my friend Jane’s synopsis and review on her movie blog, Film Gecko, but basically it’s about a guy who falls in love with a life-size doll. Family and friends go along with the delusion. When the movie was over, I turned to Tom and asked:
“I wonder if people look at me and Lilly and feel the same way?”
His reply? “They probably do.”
Like the movie … that realization is both funny and sad.
At least, I justify in my head, Lilly is a real, living breathing entity. She really can respond to me. She has a life outside of my attention.
Still … I’ll be newly on guard for people who might merely be humoring me because, as we learn in the movie, it’s one thing to humor someone from a place of compassion and understanding. It’s another entirely to humor them with disdain.
I make no apologies for my bond with my dogs. I truly believe it makes me a better person and a better friend. Dogs teach us compassion. They teach us patience. And, in my world, there’s nothing pathetic about that.
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