The word unconditional is an adjective and is defined by dictionary.com (which is much more fun to use than the Webster’s that stabilizes my bookshelf, both of which I haven’t used since acquiring my Kindle… which is a whole other blog in itself…. Where was I???? Oh yeah… dictionary.com) Ha!
Start over…..
The word unconditional is an adjective and is defined by dictionary.com as - without condition or limitations –not conditional not limited
If you were to Google “examples of unconditional” an astounding 12,400,000 results would appear and while I’ll admit that I only skimmed through the top ten… I didn’t find anything that I would consider to be an example of “unconditional”. ( I wonder how OFF the last result would be.. you know as well as I do what happens to search results after page two.)
Sooo….
With the exception of the Love of Christ, which I must note because I believe this to be true, I haven’t found any examples or definitions that make me stop and go… Oh yeah, duuu! In fact, the more I looked into it the more confused I became. Seems there is always a LOOPHOLE or way to explain when something said to be unconditional becomes conditional.
Science and Math are both areas that are somewhat concrete. Numbers are numbers… (unless they’re flippin letters) and “facts” in science are generally based upon experiments preformed over and over and over… so things don’t change much…. (this is why we know eggs are good for us…wait… no…yes…. )
Scientific Example : Pavlo's Dog experiment
Mathematicians Example of unconditional: (of an equality) true for all values of the variable: ( x +1)> x is an unconditional equality
…. … … … … did that make sense to you? Me either... that' probably because most of my math tests look alot like the example below... so I at this point still do not have a definition or understand the word unconditional.
???? So does all this rambling have a point… and are you ever going to get to it ?????
Uh yeah… here we go… it has two points actually….
The first is Someone somewhere is going to Google Pavlo’s Dog and learn more about the experiment on Wikipedia for free… which is bs… because I think I paid a ridiculous credit hour amount to learn what I cannot explain….
The second…and reason for this whole 3 page long word document is because last night, I discovered what I believe to be my own personal example and definition of the word unconditional.
On August 10th at 1:40am, the lightening from a summer storm lit up my bedroom, accompanied by the boom of thunder. This was immediately followed by a very terrified howl of a Beagle.
On August 10th at 1:41am, the lightening from a summer storm lit up my bedroom, accompanied by the boom of thunder. This was immediately followed up by snuggles and cold noses being jammed under my arms.
On August 10th at 1:42am, the threat and fear, of the lightning and thunder from a summer storm ,became non-existent for a tri-colored Beagle and a Black and White StaffyBullDog who were snuggled on each side of their momma.
So many times we’ve heard that the love of a dog is unconditional and I believe this to be totally true.
Sometimes when I’m busy keeping up with life it seems Jack is continually pestering me to play or pet him. I catch myself unconsciously begging him to “just stop” or “quit it” or “leave me alone”. WHOOOAAA (face palm fail! Not what we’re lookin for here Nik!)
It hits me, usually when I’m trying to use the bathroom and I have a dog head in each hand…or a yellow tennis ball trying to sneak it’s way into my lap (great visual, thought you’d appreciate that) life isn’t perfect and it doesn’t matter how clean my house is. If I never had to pick up stuffing from toys, yell at someone for chasing the squirrel or roll my eyes at a completely content pooch chewing on a rubber ball while perched atop a pile of clean laundry, my life would be absolutely miserable. My very existence would cease to matter in this world. (Ok, this last part is a stretch… but then again… how do I know my existence isn’t necessary because of them???? Hmmm…. Deep…. Oh look a shinny thing…. What was … oh yeah)
While this sounds much like what a parent would say about a child there is a major difference, the older my dogs get and the more acquainted they become with my weaknesses the more their love and affection will grow. Unlike a child, the way I look, the way I dress or the amount of money I make will never matter to my dogs. (Although the way I smell is a different story, you try going home after making a visit with a foreign dog! MUST MASK SMELL OF OTHER DOG… MUST RUB MYSELF ALL OVER HER TO REMOVE OTHER DOG SMELL- I kinda believe that is what happens inside Jacks head.)
If we sleep in the car, in a tent, or in a 5,000sq foot loft apartment with a view, my dogs will not care as long as I am there. There is no amount of yelling I can do that will squash their love for me, never throwing the ball again will not cause Jack to decide he no longer wants to be around me, unfortunately even people who abuse their dogs are always given a second chance almost immediately after the abuse. (this is not because a dog is stupid… it is the reason why ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN… because it sounds just like someone else I know who forgives without question)
During the early morning of August 10th, 2011 while being completely smothered by Jack Alan and T. Boone I completely grasped the meaning of unconditional. As I laid my arm over each of their heads and rested my hands on their chests I could feel their heartbeats slow down and their bodies immediately relax. I knew in that moment that they believed that I would save them from the monster outside… there was no longer a reason to be afraid.
They believe in me without condition or limitation, and they always will. Even though I have done nothing to deserve or merit this affection they believe in me. In fact, I will never do anything in their lives that will be worthy of this love without condition or limitation. Yet, they freely hand it out when I have the smarts to drink it in. There is nothing I could ever do to change the way they feel.
I finally understand the word unconditional… and I define it as a noun: Austin Wayne, Jack Alan, and Boone the Super Beagle. OH YEAH DUUUU…. LIGHTBULB!
I was pretty scared when I first met my Mom and Dad, but Mom promised me that she would never ever leave me, and that I could keep her FURever. I didn’t believe her at first but, she makes sure that Jack and I go everywhere with her. I went on my first camping trip to Robbers Cave State Park, and we went to the lake almost every weekend this summer. Dad loves his pontoon boat. My Mom makes Jack wear a life jacket because he can’t swim, but I can, so someday I might teach him how. 
