Older Dog Wisdom: Grace 4: 3x5 Cards

Tux has his many and beloved 11-year-old toys. Grace, though, is a girl after my own heart. She has a fascination, dare I say it? an obsession, with 3x5 cards. She loves her index cards. I dare not leave any within her reach, including on tables because they’ll be gone when I return. I love being able to blame my misplaced/lost cards on Grace.

She caught on to my ruse not long ago. She no longer tries to hide the fact that she has taken my index card. Nope. She tears off a corner and leaves the rest for me to discover. I like this about her. Since I get the card back only a little worse for wear, I don’t lose the data on the card.

At one time, I thought I could foil her theft by attaching a pen to the card thus making it awkward to carry because of the added heft. It didn’t deter her at all. I found the card with the pen nearby. The obligatory corner was gone, the pen was unharmed, and my list remained legible.

I have a confession to make. I love my iPhone and all the many apps I keep on it, including shopping apps like Grocery iQ to keep my grocery list, apps to keep track of books, apps like Awesome Notes which is the closest I’ve come to having 3x5 cards on my iPhone, and a host of other apps. Even so, I continue to use 3x5 cards to make a list of things I need to accomplish on a particular day, for instance. I’ve recently discovered 2x2 cards. A quick perusal of the cards next to my chair includes a reminder to download Steven Tyler’s Dream On from iTunes, another reminds me to get some Journey tunes, while a third reminds me to get distilled water the next time I’m in a grocery store. Even with loving my iPhone and its apps, I haven’t given up my need for 3x5 cards, regardless of their size.

Grace is inordinately pleased that I continue to use 3x5 cards. She loves the heft of the cards, the ease of carrying them around, and how satisfying chewing off one corner is. For my part, I’m pleased that she likes the cards rather than plush toys. 3x5 cards are a heck of a lot cheaper than plush toys, and since I can’t seem to stop buying the cards, we now have a life-time supply stashed in a cupboard in the family room.

I asked Grace what lesson I could pass on about her passion for 3x6 cards. Her answer, while rude, was pithy. She said to tell you to figure it out yourselves. Such a mouth she has.