Sorry seems to be the hardest word

My manners seem to be continually tested and strained these days. I must constantly be aware of how I respond to things. I think this challenge has been happening to all of us over the past year.

Sometimes things go our way and we can feel the happy feet feeling taking over while we pride ourselves on things going well.

Or we may have a time when we make a mistake, step on something we shouldn't, push our way through a day that was filled with obstacles and challenges, or snap back at someone that really didn't deserve such an abrupt response.

Sometimes our days just plain go wrong.

Of course a true Canadian always has the time to say they are sorry, even when it seems the most obscure thing to respond at the time. We may even say we are sorry to a post we have bumped into when we are not looking where we are going and accidentally run into it.

Or lately, with colds, flues and allergies; coughing in public elicits an apologetic response for our germ-spreading actions. We really don’t care if we get a response from those that we speak to.

Just knowing we have done our duty by being kind and apologetic for our actions is enough to help us continue on our day.

But have we ever noticed how often we say we are sorry to our dog? And really, to no avail. There is no benefit, no reaction and no recourse because of it. As my dog runs under my feet to grab my attention and I stumble over the chaos and right myself, I find I am instinctively mumbling that I am sorry to the dog for stepping on her paw or bumping her head.

There are times when I throw the ball and end up tossing it across an obstacle that the dog finds difficult to travers, or sometimes impossible. There is little that can be done as the dog struggles to get the ball for me. I hear myself yelling, “Sorry,” across the field, as if my words will make the challenge of fetching the ball easier.

Sometimes there are drastic times in our lives where our dog gets hurt, or can’t help themselves, and it is up to us to make things right.

At these times for some reason, the word sorry spills out of our mouth, trying to console the dog with their dilemma. But the words are for us, not the dog. They have no idea what the word means.

For a dog, they caress and lick us for the most obscure events, as if they are saying they are very sorry for their negligence, or lack of paying attention, or maybe just doing what they felt like rather than what you actually wanted them to do.

Somehow, they can convey to us they are sorry. Their actions bring a smile to our face and of course their loving actions bring words spilling out of our mouth that they are forgiven and their apology is gratefully received.

Dogs seem to have the word “Sorry” all worked out. Maybe, for once, we need to learn something from them.