Shotgun!

She’s getting old now and hasn’t ridden shotgun with me for some time. But tonight I had to pop down to the supermarket and invited her to come along for the ride.

When we reached the car, I realized Don had the back filled with packages ready to courier tomorrow, but there was space in the passenger seat. Not having the heart to disappoint my faithful friend, I opened the door and invited Dusty to jump in.

She didn’t need a second invitation. It was lovely having my old friend riding along next to me, despite the halitosis wafting my way as she fixed me with those intelligent eyes which make me wonder just how much she does understand.

Raising four children, for years I almost always had someone riding shotgun, but those days are gone. Dusty used to squirrel her way into the passenger seat any chance she got, but arthritis and age have made her content to lounge on the larger seat at the back.

Seasons. There is a time for everything, the writer in Ecclesiastes 3 tells us. 

A season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

A time to ride shotgun and a time to lounge on the back seat.