Sweet
Man’s Best Friend
Meet Lucy
Last Monday I woke up and the brilliant idea came over me that what this household really could use is one more blue-eyed brunette female needing things from me. You read that right. We got a puppy, another female in this house and likely a few more steps down my personal path to the loony bin.
Her name is Lucy and she really is just what our family needed (I think). It has been a year with no dog in our house since losing our little guy Rusty and I think everyone just had a little extra love to share that needed a home. We are finding that Lucy has plenty of it to give back too. The girls have a serious case of puppy love and when I think about Lucy being a part of our family as the girls grow up, it makes me smile.
True, even in one week I have questioned if we bit off a bit more than we can chew but then I remember that Lucy is happy to chew the rest. I can tell that she is going to be a great dog. She is gentle but playful smart and learning quickly. Another fun part about a new puppy is just in case I wasn’t already drowning in an ocean of ping and sparkle, Lucy has food and water bowls with hearts on them and a collar with pink trim. Basically what I am saying is, if any of you are going fishing or getting together to watch the game, give me a shout.
Realizing there is enough love to go around with some left over is pretty cool, deciding to share that love with a puppy is totally sweet.
Weak
No Lucy, No No Lucy, That’s not your toy, do that outside, drop it, stop chewing that shoe, where did you get those panties……..
I may have found the secret to parenting
Shoot me.
Yes, dear old dad, in his ever continued quest to be a hero to his girls and go for the gusto, may have just relived the banana split to-go moment only with much bigger consequences than an ice cream river running through a SUV. Don’t get me wrong, puppies are wonderful and so are toddlers. Much like vinegar and baking soda are both, for the most part, manageable on their own; puppies and toddlers are OK separately as well. Things get a bit more explosive when the two elements mix. For example: it is a great idea for us to decide that Lucy will not have any table food and we will stick to that, except our little one just gave her half of a grilled cheese sandwich just now. Unfortunately Usain Bolt couldn’t have gotten to Lucy before the sandwich was no more.
I am all for the notion that the best way to get used to the temperature of the water is to jump head first into the deep end rather than dipping in your toe. I also realize that sometimes that method causes you to come shooting out of the water with a scream and a shiver.
We will find a way to manage and there is a part of me that will love every minute but as Lucy discovers something new to get into every minute and our toddler works to finish up this potty training thing and start flying solo, I can’t help but wonder what we were thinking. It isn’t the toddler or the puppy’s fault that when combined they can become combustible. Toddler drops food, puppy eats food. Toddler leaves out toys, puppy eats toys. Puppy has accident in crate, toddler crawls in and doesn’t want to come out.
I love the feel of chaos when the primary ingredient is joy. Saturday morning, however, after the girls and puppy only being up for a couple of hours, our living room looked like, smelled like, and sounded like, the beginning of the movie Saving Private Ryan. For a split second I questioned our judgement but then I realized the toys can be put away and the messes can be cleaned up but the smiles and the laughter that was spilling in the room was a mess worth having. They are lucky that they are all so adorable.
It is worth it, but I am not naive (well maybe a little) I recognize that when your daughter wants to live in the dog crate and the puppy won’t stop trying to eat the fireplace, it is pretty weak.
