Bear’s Corner: My Green Ball Job

Hi everybody. It’s me, Bear.

Mom says I have an important job now. She says my job is to help make Mom and Dad smile again.

I am trying very hard to learn my new job.

One thing I know how to do really well is my green ball game. I used to do this when my Uncle Teddy was here, too. Every night when we watched TV together, I would bring Mom my green ball.

I put it right on her lap so she could see it.

The green ball has a little hole in it. Mom puts some kibble treats inside. Then she rolls the ball across the floor, and I chase it really fast.

Sometimes I pounce on it like a wild animal.

Then I chew on it and push it with my paws until the treats come out. This part takes concentration. I am very serious about it.

When the treats are gone, I bring the ball right back to Mom.

I drop it on her lap again so she knows it is time to refill the ball. Mom laughs when I do this. Dad laughs too sometimes.

That means I did my job right.

Mom says routines are important. I don’t know what that word means, but I think it means doing the same good things every day so everybody feels safe.

I miss my Uncle Teddy, and so do Mom and Dad.

So I bring the green ball again.

And again.

And again.

Because making Mom and Dad smile is part of my new job.

And I am a very good boy.

Love, Bear

A Note from Mom:

Watching Bear bring that bright green ball to my lap each evening has taken on new meaning in our home. What once felt like a playful routine between two dogs and two humans now feels like a quiet act of love.

Bear does not understand grief the way we do. But he understands connection, routine, and the small rituals that make a family feel whole. The green ball game has become his way of restoring a little normalcy to our evenings.

When he drops that ball onto my lap with complete confidence that the game will begin again, I realize he is teaching us something important. Life moves forward not in big dramatic moments, but in the gentle repetition of familiar love.

And in this house, the green ball still rolls across the floor each night.

Because Bear is doing his job.

And he is doing it beautifully.

❤️💕🐾