The
Values Project
is a year-long initiative designed to equip families to raise children who thrive emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Get inspiration, practical ideas, family activities, and parenting tips from our network of seasoned parents and faith leaders, because it takes a village to raise a good human. Each month we'll explore a different value-like honesty, loyalty, creativity, kindness, and more.
Ordinary Loyalty
To say that Jack was loyal is both a cliché and an understatement. He never pulled me from a rushing river or came sprinting down the block to fend off a bully. But, loyalty is almost never measured in extravagant, big moments.
Instead, it is remarkably ordinary, born out of routine and presence and, of course, connection.
Written by: Bryan Bliss
The first time we saw Jack, he was sitting with a bunch of other dogs, available for adoption. My wife and I hadn't been married for long and we were getting ready to move to a different state so I could start graduate school. We weren't getting a dog.
"But look at him," my wife said, and I did.
He had the look of a scruffy Hollywood dog who finds himself far from home and survives any number of adventures to get back to his owners. Probably a Jack Russel terrier, but larger-as if created in a mad laboratory. The volunteer assured us he would be adopted within the hour.
In truth, we didn't have the money to bring home even the most secondhand of dogs. So I put him out of my mind until we found ourselves back at the Humane Society a month later and I heard my wife yell my name.
Jack sat perfectly still in a crowded pen. He cocked his head to the side-that's when I knew I was in trouble-and stared at us intently, as if to say, "What took you so long?" My wife was already talking to the volunteer, who told us Jack had been returned two different times since we'd last seen him for peeing in the house. I looked back to Jack, who cocked his head the other way like, "Who you going to believe, me or her?"
Click here
to download free activities that reinforce the value of loyalty in fun, interactive ways. Your whole family can participate!
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