have you ever had to break up with your mailman?

We have. It isn't much fun.

Since living in our quaint suburb, we have had the best mailman. He is accurate, dependable and friendly...everything you could want from a mail carrier. But mostly, he loves dogs. All dogs. And chloey loved him.

So great was their friendship, most days when the weather is nice we are all outside together, that Chloey could hear him coming from about a block away. They second she gets him in sight, it is all over. By the time I catch up the only thing visible out of the mail truck is her hind end and tail. Seriously, she climbs in the truck. And she is just getting totally loved on, hair flying in all directions and tail wagging so hard she is about to lift off. She wasn't just getting dog bones either. Peanut butter sandwiches, old brownies and carrots are just a few of the goodies on the list.

The problem came not with the food she ate (although I am sure she put on the pounds) or the fact that she didn't listen to me at all. It was that when he would come down the street in the other direction, she would bolt across to meet him, dodging cars in the process.

After a few summers of this, we finally decided to put a stop to it last fall. Ripp met the mailman at the mailbox one afternoon and explained the obvious. That Chloey did in fact love him, just too much. But not all mailmen loved her (she didn't know this and didn't care who was driving) and we were worried that one of these days she would get hit. By another mailman or a speeding car. When Ripp came in the house, I think all he said was, "yeah, he's pissed." Of course I didn't believe him, but did wonder if his feelings had been hurt.

Well, fall turned to winter. Since we don't hang out on the driveway when it is snowing and below zero, we don't see the mailman much. I pretty much assumed that it would pass and all would be well.

Wrong. Since we have been blessed with 60 degree weather today, Will and I spent the latter part of the morning outside, him riding bikes while I vacuumed the car (ew) and swept off the patios. Like clockwork, and like no time had passed, the mailman arrived and Chloey went in head first. When Will and I reached the truck to retrieve both the dog and the mail, Will innocently said, "she wants something to eat." To which the mailman replied quietly, "I am not supposed to feed her." He handed me my mail and drove away.

What?!? He is mad. Chloey is sad. I am sad. Will is slightly confused but moves on to climbing fences and feeding Chloey sticks instead. I don't know what to do. Since I am pretty sure you can't put peanut butter blondies in your mail box as a peace offering, I am just going to have to continue doing what I am doing. Be nice, resist the urge to give in and just let him feed her like in the good 'ol days, and hope that soon we can all be friends again. Without the peanut butter sandwiches and brownies. Maybe a lemonade stand this summer will help...

On a side note-the weather today is AWESOME!!! I know it is just a teaser and that the rain is on its way. But it sure feels good to see the sun, Will and I ate lunch out on the porch.