When i was little i read a story about a boy and a girl and maybe a dog or maybe the story was just about a dog i don’t remember exactly but as i imagine remembering it now there was a ball and the dog was running after the ball and the boy and the girl were running too and they were chasing the dog maybe excited by the dog’s play or maybe running to get the ball away from the dog because it was a special ball given to the girl by her father the last thing he gave her before he left but it doesn’t have to be the father it could just as well be the mother not as common perhaps but they leave too and it doesn’t have to be the girl it could just as well be the boy recognizing that boys can be as sensitive as girls and maybe even more so and it got me thinking about moms and dads leaving and it got me worried about moms and dads leaving mine in particular and it made me for a time reluctant to let my mom and dad out of my sight which was a problem when it came to them going off to work and me to school not to mention when i wanted to go out and play with my friends and then it happened i don’t know why it happened it was nothing i noticed adult stuff they said but then i had to choose i was old enough they said although i don’t think i was and i ended up going with my dad i don’t know exactly why and looking back at it now i don’t like to think it was because my dad had always wanted a dog and my mom wouldn’t let him but maybe it was as simple as that and maybe given how things turned out not always good for either my mom or my dad or for any of us maybe i was too young to be the one making that decision but i do know i loved that dog and i do remember many happy hours chasing after that dog and his ball and i am thankful for them still.