“Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.”
― Ovid

This weekend Nessie decided to take me on in a game of Are You Smarter Than A 5-Month-Old?

The winner is obvious. Now I have a job to do. Here it is.

“My name is Dennis Ritchie and I know how to operate a leash and open the food container, but I’m not smarter than a 5-month-old.”

They say admitting your problem is the first step.

My head was in my computer and I was working on the book, so I have an excuse. My mind was distracted, my focus elsewhere, she cheated, I’m gonna tell.

Nessie walked over to lie at my feet with her head on my tennis shoe. I was thinking, what a great dog I have. I was lost in the illusion of me in my fantasy office, surrounded by a library of good books, my socks propped on the mahogany desk with my faithful dog at my feet.

I reached down to pet Ol’ Faithful. That’s when I felt my loafer tassel hanging out of her mouth.

Nessie’s advantages are patience and persistence. That should tell you something of the importance of these qualities. A puppy, armed with these, can bring a full-grown human to his knees.

I’m sitting on the patio in the warm sun under blue skies as I write this. Nessie just looked up from my Mom’s potted plant where she was digging with both feet. Her wet nose was covered with potting soil. Thank goodness decorative kale is edible.

That’s how long it takes to defeat me when I’m distracted.

I get two lessons from this.

One: Doggy Daddies can never lose focus. She may look like a sweet puppy but in truth she’s only waiting for an opening.

Two: I don’t have to be smarter, faster, taller or better than the other guy. I just have to be patient and persistent. Sooner or later he will forget his loafers.