You’d think I’d know better by now. That I’d be prepared for what always seem to happen when you get a new dog.

This time I thought maybe it would be different. She came with the name Gidget. I love the name. It fits her perfectly. She is a Gidget all the way. No doubt, what-so-ever.

But then it happened again.

The nicknames that seem to just fall out of my mouth without thought. The name Gidget rarely now spoken in our home.

It started with Lil’ G.

Then came snuggle butts.

And then there is Scootle-dee-doodle-dee. This one gets turned into a song that I feel compelled to sing to the little dog that has taken over my heart, and who I would hold all day long and sing to her if I could.

Next came Miss G.

Then as if too much to say, I shorten to just “G.”

Let’s not forget she is also my Buddha dog. And Buddha she becomes when she sits in her quiet, contemplative stance while sitting on my lap when we sit in the kitchen gazing out the front door. I love those moments of just being still with her. It grounds me. It makes me feel safe. It makes me so happy.

Short stuff, Sweet one, Gidg, and Gidg-miester, round out the nicknames this 9 lb bundle of joy has so far received in eight months since she has been here.

I’m sure I’ve only just begun.