The Ducks

Sorry, birders...no real ducks this time:

This is The Ducks. It is, I suppose, an early version of the synthetic fleece blanket. I've had it...forever. As I recall, I got this one and my brother got one with a tiger on it. Fitting, really. In short, it is a most warm, most durable blanket. It kept me warm on nights when winter winds literally howled through my bedroom in a trailer home past its prime. I dragged it with me into marriage, and it quickly became The Bug's go-to blanket for nights when she simply could not get warm. Literally, it is like a hot bath without the water! It is a bit ornery, The Ducks...

...which is but one of the reasons we keep our faithful Biscuit close by at nights. So when I was shaking like a leaf on Monday night and thinking I might never be warm again, my loving wife covered me with The Ducks, and I weathered the chills. That's the nature of The Ducks. It cannot spare us the tremors of the world, nor the chills, nor the fever. It does not ward away the viruses, nor the winds, nor the cold. It is not Superman's Cape, nor is it Harry Potter's Cloak. What it is is that go-to when we are down and out, that most trusted friend who is always there to comfort us...literally to wrap us up in warmth and love. We do not call on it every day. There are times when we naively think we have outgrown it. And then comes the fever and the chill and the feeling as if we will never be warm again, and The Ducks embraces us, and so we know otherwise. It is the best blankie that ever was, and the best metaphor for God I've got.

(Shout-out to Sparky Schulz, who taught me most everything I know about dogs and blankies...and faith)