wednesday words, wonderings & wanderings

Last Thursday I went to the Dayton Art Institute to see the exhibit, The Artistic Life of Aka Pereyma. Aka Pereyma was a local artist of Ukrainian descent who lived in Troy, Ohio, about 20 minutes north of Dayton. She was a very prolific artist, creating in so many mediums: painting, woodworking, industrial metallurgy, pottery, textiles. It was hard not to think about politics as I drove to the DAI to see this exhibition. I knew that Pereyma had been honored by the government of Ukraine and that her work combined Ukrainian folk-art traditions with modern artistic styles. Now the country that has honored Pereyma is being attacked by Putin, while American politicians argue over whether the U.S. should support Ukraine or not.

But any thought of politics disappeared when I entered the gallery. She celebrated and loved life and it shows in her creations.

In 2012, my son was a senior at Ohio University and for his birthday his girlfriend (now his wife) bought a dog, meeting the "breeder" in a gas station parking lot outside of Athens, Ohio. The puppy was named Bernie, after Bernie Kosar, a former Cleveland Brown quarterback.

Bern lived a wonderful life. He lived with 9 dads as a college dog and lived in countless different apartments and houses as Andrew and Jen moved around. He was there for all the big events in their lives. He was the happiest, most energetic dog and would always overload with excitement and squeaks when someone would walk in the house. He loved chasing squirrels and playing fetch, snuggling his way onto the couch and into bed, and for the 22 months was the best doggie friend to their son.

After Bernie passed, Jen converted his meal area into a book nook. We are in Cleveland for a week babysitting this little guy and we've already spent time in this sweet spot of remembrance, sitting on Bernie's bed, reading whatever piles of books Little Grandson chooses. It's magic to my ears when he says, "Didi book, Didi book," and so heartwarming when we crawl into Bernie's book nook.