It’s been roughly a decade since I last had to take care of a puppy.
That means I remember the basics of feeding, watering, potty training, and playtime.
I mean, I mostly remember all of those things.
Plus, I recall having a lot of help with mom and Mike on hand.
Things were a little different when my best friend asked me to watch her puppy while she was out of town.
I’ve learned that so much has happened in a decade that I might just really remember the fun and cute parts of puppy-sitting rather than the hard ones.
You know the playing, teaching them to sit and whatnot versus waking up before sunrise to take them out to potty sort of things.
Plus, they’re little fluff balls of sensitive nerves, anxiety, and uncertainty in a new place with new people.
Not to mention, this puppy was a bit of a bed hog and ruffled the other pets in the household.
Loki was annoyed because the puppy slept with me rather than him.
And Keechi might just be too old and grumpy to deal with a hyper puppy.
I guess that means I owe my parents more credit than I’ve given them in the past.
Still, it’s momentarily sated my desire for a new dog since the loss of Padme last year.
We’d had Padme for so long that the awkward and tiring puppy years became faded memories more than the recent few.
And I’m biased because I wasn’t on potty patrol as much as I am now.
I’d really forgotten how hard it is for a puppy to get used to a new home and routine – no matter how brief.
After all, they’re still learning and growing.
I suppose, if anything, this adventure has taught me to extend my patience and definitely made me grateful for the overall experience.
It definitely served as a reminder of why I don’t want real children and that we’ll have to select our next dog carefully.
Something that’s too high energy just won’t work for me or mom and Mike.
I will definitely be glad to get my bed back and not have a puppy kicking me in the middle of the night.
...
So, my sister made it home last weekend just in time to get her Christmas presents before mom took down the tree.
In fact, she also brought us our Christmas presents.
Mike got more Texas A&M gear, I got a box of Halloween and nerd goodies while mom got more Christmas ornaments.
And while I know what she got for our brother, I have no idea when he’ll be coming home to get it.
Overall plans are for the next big family holiday to be Easter weekend.
Naturally, there’s a lot of unknowns left with such a long timeline ahead of us, but, we’re hopeful.
It all boils down to coordinating with their jobs – something I didn’t imagine being so hard at our age.
Then again, newspaper life is a whole other beast of its own that has its own demands.
