Friday 10 April 2015

Cheerful Chaos

A friend is getting a new puppy, and of course I'm reduced to a slavering idiot by the darling photos. Such pudgy cuteness! Even though I know it's totally unrealistic, I daydreamed all the way home last night about getting one. You would think that having seven people and two dogs in the house right now would keep me busy enough. Not to mention the newborn about to join the family. And the guest coming. And the twenty-three music students who trudge in and out of the house all week. Not to mention the fact that I work fulltime and put in twenty hours a week on the commute alone. And writing deadlines and church callings and... well, you get the picture. My life does not need another puppy and all that entails. But such cuddliness!

I knew when I got Brio that he would be my last dog. It's a sad thought, but really, I'm getting to the stage in my life where I want to be able to go away for a weekend on the spur of the moment, or jump on a plane and travel, without having to plan and book kennels or dog-sitters and then fret over my poor puppies missing me at home. I have loved having dogs in the family while I was raising my boys. I think every kid needs a canine. But yeah, I guess I'm about to reach a different stage.

Not that you can tell by looking at my house. I'm still very much in Mommy mode. Part of me misses having quiet mornings on the couch with a book. Calm evenings watching Merlin and Sherlock Holmes with my husband. Easy scrambled-egg suppers. But another part of me relishes having a full house, a pile of people at the table, every seat taken. I like the chatter and energy and bustle. There are days I feel like you could throw ten more foster kids and a litter of puppies at me and I would thrive in a joyful whirlwind.

And then sanity returns and I recognize my own limitations. Everything has its season. One season doesn't last long, and you have to be ready to roll with the changes when they come. Plan for everything, and then don't plan on anything.

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