“What beats having someone around who covers you in kisses after a run?”
“You have ruined your life.” Words from a dear friend upon learning I secured a puppy for the children for Christmas.
“Oh sure, he’ll be cute that first day and when he’s sleeping. You have just gotten yourself another human…only worse.”
Merry Christmas!
I was sitting at the computer feeling quite happy I helped Santa find a puppy so close to Christmas. All the while, a dam of pent up frustration spewed forth from my friend.
“Get a dumpster now. Pick up the phone and have one delivered in your driveway. Your shoes, your underwear, your rugs. It would be much less painful to haul it out to the dumpster right this minute. Kiss it all goodbye.”
“I’m so very scared for you.”
After our daughter asked Santa four consecutive years for a dog, Santa finally relinquished. My email campaign to the North Pole the last six months wore down his steely resolve. All children need a dog. I needed a dog, but it had been quite a while.
I remembered a few things from long ago such as tromping to work every day in the same pair of black pumps with teeth marks embedded in their faux leather, sensible-height heel. Those workhorses and a pair of Nikes were the only shoes that had not been discovered in unrecognizable clumps on our bedroom floor. One beloved piece of furniture met its painful demise, skinned alive bit-by-bit by the bored dog while we were away.
But Christmas Eve, seeing that puppy’s black floppy ears, black eyes, black nose and black body, nothing that tiny and cute could ruin my life. Change it, maybe?
No. Change it, lots. Puppies are small creatures with small bladders. Part of Santa’s negotiation for allowing puppy to cross our threshold was my agreeing to get up at night with the dog. Funny, how the first 36 hours of puppy’s arrival coincided with a steep downturn in my appearance. Don’t tell a soul, but day after Christmas, I finally noticed I was wearing the same thing I had on at church Christmas Eve. I took my shoes off to sleep, but that was about it. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, there were under eye bags, dry skin, graying hair and a weird flap of skin trailing along bathing suit elastic that no exercise would tighten. Oh well, nothing a few hours of extra sleep won’t easily resolve.
It’s like marrying your mate. “Oh sure, he’ll be cute that first day and when he’s sleeping.” But even with great marriages sometimes this other being gets into your closet and messes up your shoes and occasionally uses the bathroom at inconvenient times in the wrong place. But all-in-all, this person makes life indefinitely better. What beats having someone who covers you in kisses after a run when you’re at your sweatiest or just plain prefers to kiss you at your sweatiest? Even my dear husband doesn’t do that – at least not any more. No, a great dog usually follows having a great puppy.
My friend sighed. “Oh Jamie, why didn’t you consult me?”
Who needs to seek advice when in love? I’ll save the consultation for selecting all my new shoes.
“You have ruined your life.” Words from a dear friend upon learning I secured a puppy for the children for Christmas.
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