Puppies and Dragons #raising a dragon in the 21st century

“Mommy, mommy I saw the cutest puppy when I was visiting Cheria today.”

“I love puppies. Did Cheria get a new puppy?”

“No. They got an adult dog at the rescue place. The people there were excited when I signed up to take a puppy home. Did I mention he really needs a home?”

“Emily, you have an oversized dragon for a pet. Where would we keep a puppy?”

“Oh mommy, I knew you would say yes. He’s just outside. His name is Orion. I think we should call him Ory.”

“There is a puppy out side?” Mommy didn’t look as excited as I thought she’d look.

“Drag will love him. I promise.” I was not exactly sure if this was true.

“Emily your papa gets home soon. We will talk about it then.”

This wasn’t going exactly the way I had hoped.

“Hi, Em. How was school?” My dragon was such a thoughtful boy.

“School was good. Drag, what do you think about dogs?”

“Yes, they are tasty. Not as good as pizza.” I could see his nose sniffing the air.

“Not to eat.” I stomped my feet.

Just then, we both heard a whimper at the door.

“Oh Ory I’m sorry.” I grabbed the tiny puppy in my arms and gave Drag a don’t you dare eat him look.

“He looks like he will be fun to play with. Can he fly?”

I wanted to punch my pet dragon in the nose but I remembered there is nothing easy about raising a dragon in the 21st century.

Dragon Mask #raisingadragon #Covid

“Em when are we going to be able to take our masks off?”

“Drag I don’t know they are a bother aren’t they?”

“YES. There is no opening for pizza and you know how much I love pizza.”

“Silly dragon. You can take your mask off when you eat.”

“I can?”

“Yes and when you sleep.”

“What about when I sneak out to fly?”

“Ummmm. Don’t let daddy know about the flying. I don’t know who you could get Co-vid from when you are up above the trees?”

“So I dont have to wear a mask? Yippeee!!!”

“Oh Im sooo in trouble. Did I mention that there is nothing easy about raising a dragon in the 21st Century.”

When I feel alone… #dragons

 

“Em, I am sad that the dragons are all gone.”

“Except you.” I threw my arms around my pet dragon’s neck.

“What if you had no family. Would you be sad?”

“Yes, of course I would be.”

“What do I look forward to then?” Drags wings drooped and he started to fade (something he did when he was afraid or in trouble.)

“Drag you and I must both look forward to tomorrow. There’s a word I should teach you. It’s HOPE.”

“What’s hope?” My dragon scrunched his eyes.

“Hope is something we look for in the darkest moment. It’s what helps us keep going.”

“I know there are many people right now who need some of that.”

“Yes, you are so right. So many people are lost, afraid, uncertain, sick. That can make you feel so alone.”

“I’m glad I’m not alone.” Drag spoke as his wings looked strong.

“So am I. Do you know the Bible tells us we are never alone.”

“Really?”

“The Bible says many things about hope:”

“If we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses…” Romans 8:25&26

“Drag we need to know the the Holy Spirit is always there even when we feel the most alone. We need to keep hoping for ourselves and for others.”

“Ok Em. I will because I have a wonderful friend like you.”

 

Even in the darkest days (and we have been through some), God promises that He is there. We need to hold onto His promises.

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 is another verse to hold onto when we feel alone.

 

Crack in the Door #poetry #pain

darkness is cruel

eyes neither open nor close

no feeling in void

*

inanimate pain

screams stifled behind closed doors

you inflicted this

*

slap awakens

firefly moment so bright

pin pricks of hope

*

eyes are opened

light cauterizes split heart

golden day awaits

Dragon Art #drawings

Dragons and Planes #fantasy #storiesforchildren

Today my class went on a cool field trip to the Air and Space Museum. There were really old planes and even a space shuttle. I imagined being in the cockpit of the Discovery as it shot into space on the back of a rocket. Little did I know Drag had decided to come with us in invisible mode.

“Look up there,” one of the students pointed. ” That red airplane is moving. Do you think it will fall?”

“Those airplanes are well secured so they wont fall.” The tour guide assured us.

“It’s like the movie night at the museum,” another student said as we watched several of the airplanes rocking back and forth on their thin cables.

The tour guide stepped away from our class and got on her walkie. I could imagine what she was saying. “Is it safe for these children…”

Then I noticed the shadow of a dragon wing brushing against another plane.

“Drag,” I hissed, “get over there.” I pointed to the bathrooms as I stomped over to the corner out of sight. “What are you doing here?”

“Em, when I heard you were going to a place where there were flying things I wanted to see them too. I’m sad not one of them can talk to me.”

“Hmmm. You thought you would find another dragon at the museum?”

Drags eyes got big as he nodded.

“Ohhh Drag, I’m sorry. All these things are machines. As far as I know, you are the only living dragon.”

“That’s too bad.” Drag looked up at the winged machines.

“Please stay right next to me until we get outside. Then I want you to fly straight home. No more touching airplanes.”

“Ok Em,” my dragon wiggled his eyes.

I giggled and crossed my eyes.

You can’t be too careful what you do or say when you are raising a dragon in the 21st century.

Summer with my pet dragon #fantasy

“Emmmmmm,” my pet dragon came running around the corner and thudded into a propped open door. “Ouch”

“Drag you know the rule about running in the house.” I felt bad cuz I could tell from the squinting eyes that it hurt.

“Now I’ll remember.” He tried to shake away the pain. “I wanted to tell you there’s a big white van outside.”

“Oh, that’s right the painters are coming today; Mommy told me before she went off to the grocery store. You are going to have to be invisible for the day, Drag.”

“I’ve never been invisible that long.”

“I know. We can try hiding out in my room, but you have to be real quiet.”

“Hmmm, do you think they will have anything good to eat?”

Drag loves garbage so I knew what he was thinking. “I can ask if they will leave the paint cans.” I made an I can’t believe you would want to eat that stuff grimace.

“Mmmm, yummy. I’ll be good all day, Em.” Drag looked at me with the sincerest blue dragon eyes.

“I know you will be. You always try…” My dad would say ‘we struggle to get through every day as dragon owners.’

“I tell you what- Let’s go for a flight tonight for good behavior.” I winked knowing we would both benefit from time outside.

“That’s a deal.” Drag wiggled his tail with glee.

“How ’bout you go to my room and I’ll go get some snack food for us.”

“Wheeee,” Drag ran down the hall to my room.

It’s not always easy keeping a pet dragon from running down the hall in the 21st Century.

Blizzards and Dragons #fiction #fantasy #dragons

“Can’t we go out and play in it?” Drag looked at me with that hopeful look.

“No, it’s too cold and the snow is coming down really fast. I don’t think it would be safe even for a baby dragon.” I looked out our big glass door watching the snow cascade.

“I could heat it up with fire like last time.” I could tell Drag really wanted to go explore.

“Last time it got in the  news. They thought it was the beginning of a weather disaster. Don’t you remember daddy got really mad.”

“I remember. I was hoping you had forgotten.”

“Oh Drag,” I put my arms around my big pet’s neck, “there will be lots of snow to play in when it stops.”

“Really?”

“Yes plenty and it will be around for days or weeks. Let’s go play an indoor game.”

“Okay, I get to be green…”

 

Snow days are a challenge when you are trying to raise a dragon in the 21st Century.

 

Search for Fairies #fiction

I had just gotten to the good part of my dream when I heard dragon footsteps. No they weren’t part of my dream they belonged to my pet dragon.

“Em.” I could hear a giggle in his throat. “It’s raining pink outside. It’s sooo pretty.”

I opened the door and out rushed my impulsive pet. “Whoosh” went wings that were still getting acclimated to flight.

“Invisible!!!” I shouted. The big green animal vanished. “Thank you.”

What seemed like hours later, I heard a knock on the door. Breathless, Drag waddled in for a huge bowl of Cheerios topped with bananas.

“I’m making pancakes.”

“Mmm, I’d love a stack.”

Drag was not happy with puppy chow as a baby dragon so when he started eating pizza, we thought any food was better than giving him a taste of  livestock.

“Ok, I’m putting blueberries in them.”

“Oh yummy.”

“So how was the flight?”

“Oh Em, it was like when we chase bubbles. The pink blossoms fluttered and played with me before they fell to the ground. They stirred dragon memories of fairies.”

“Hmmm maybe that’s what fairies would look like if we could see them.”

“You mean there are still fairies?”

“I don’t think I exactly said that.”

“Come on Em this is a finding fairies kind of day.”

So after eating pancakes, we went on an invisible flight to look for fairies. “Drag, maybe these are fairy dresses.”

“Yes, I think you are right. Now to find the creature that wears pink cherry dresses.”

Make believe is much more fun when you are raising a dragon in the 21st century.

****

Do you believe there are fairies that wear cherry blossom dresses?

 

My Dragon Just wanted to Play #fiction

“I hate staying indoors all day, Em,” my pouty dragon stomped his heavy foot.

What Drag didn’t know was that I felt exactly the same way.

“Daddy said it’s so cold that there isn’t much air to breathe.”

“Well that doesn’t make sense.” His eyes rolled.

I shrugged my shoulders glad for once that I didn’t have a little brother; a little dragon was enough.

I could see his mind working. “Okay what if we go outside and I warm up the air, Em!”

“Mmm, I don’t know. If it’s too cold for kids to go out to school, it’s…”

“It could work, Emily. Let’s at least try.”

My good friend has a big german shepard puppy who always wants to go for walks, but she doesn’t know how lucky she is that he can’t talk.

“Ok Drag, you win but you have to do it in invisible mode.”

So we went outside while everyone else was bundled against the cold. We made snow angels,  a big snow man, and played’ catch the dragon.’

****

“Hmm that’s strange,” dad said as he walked in the door. “Em, did you by any chance do anything crazy with Drag today?”

“Ummm no, dad.” I looked very innocent. aAfter all where is the harm in playing in the snow?

“How about you, Drag?”

Drag looked down just a little bit guilty.

“I thought so…” He stroked his chin. ‘Who would I call? Geo intelligence, the weather bureau…?’ 

The next day on the front page of the newspaper the headlines read: “Unusual Global Warming Phenomenon in Springfield County.”

“Dad what happened?” It was getting hard to not look guilty for stuff that happened because of Drag. “I promise all we did was play out in the snow.”

“Em, there was a gaseous cloud over the county that grew and grew with an orange glow. Some people thought it was a weird weapon.”

I chuckled. “Well Drag decided to make the air warmer so there was oxygen to breathe. We couldn’t see the cloud I promise.”

“Oh my” dad chuckled to himself. “No one was hurt. So everything is fine.”

Raising a dragon in the 21st century is full of unseen challenges…