I smile.
I really do.
Things that make me smile?
When I ask my husband “will you do something for me?”
and he replies “I’d do anything for you.”
Mmmmhmmm…smiling
my gals…
totally smiling.
Costco sized shopping carts where all kids chill while I spend to my hearts content…
oh yeah, that makes me smile.
my private stash of never ending goodness…
just try to wipe this grin off my face!
Only a dog lover would let her do this…” She says as she lets my dog lick the grease from her hands. “Who knows where this mouth has been.”
“Yes, who knows?” I ponder, staring blankely in the distance.
She promptly washes her hands with dish soap.
Definitely a true dog lover.
Yesterday something happened here in Seattle that is phenomenon this time of year…the sun came out.
Far be it from me to EVER let a sunny day in SEATTLE slip through my fingers. There is a reason they call it “The Emerald City,” if you’re lucky enough to be here when it shines, it’s the most beautiful city in the United States.
So I loaded up the three large dogs, and three small kids, and headed to a 240 acre dog park.
When I think of “dog park” I think of the California variety, a nice chain link fence, water fountains, even the courtesy dog bowls left near picnic benches. Uh-uh, don’t kid yourself my dears…people in the northwest are “no frills.”
Sorry for that tangent.
Needless to say, mommy was unprepared for the hike at the dog park. It was huge, but there were no chain link fences. There was a simple fence made out of three pieces of wood, and some posts with a beauty bark path that led us to vast hills covered in rough terrain.
People and their dogs flooded the place. On 240 acres of land, I would have thought it would feel emptier. I guess thousands of others also wanted to take advantage of the one sunny day we’ll see for the next three weeks.
But withBubba in a backpack and Buster was holding one dog while I had two, we trudged along. Of course Missy, being a three year old was walking around in her own little world, unaware of mommy’s struggle towards the unknown. I think I had whiplash from constantly checking on her. I did get many looks of bewilderment at my brood. A little girl came up to me and courteously informed me that I could let my dogs off leash. Ahhhh! Only the innocent could have suggested such a thing.
But I did. I had too. It was a dog park!And I had to let Bubba out of the back pack because he was murdering my back. He’s quite large for his age. Hence the nickname.
Another tangent, sorry.
Have you ever herded cattle? Sheep maybe? Three dogs and three kids? I sweat-ed it out a little because there were so many dogs there and so much land it was hard to keep mine straight. But as I’ve expressed before, the dogs were very obedient, and thankful for my hard work. And thirsty. It was 65 degrees but to us it fekt like 80. Our bodies are still thawing out from frostbite.
The kids can thank me later when they’re well adjusted adults.
It really was a beautiful day. I think God knew how much I needed that sun.
Did I mention that new shoots are springing up from the bulbs in the flower boxes, and there are these little yellow flowers pushing their way through the leaves in front of our house. Spring is around the corner and I’m more than ready for it.
I don’t know how many of you try to mix children with pets. It’s a difficult and tedious balance. We have a dog, her name is Doheny, Dodo for short, and we love her…at least that’s what I say when my husband’s around.
Don’t get me wrong, I really do love her, and I cried many tears during our moving process, when I had to ship her off on a plane, many months ahead of us, to live with my sister. But honestly, she bugs!
I guess it’s the way she constantly follows me from room to room, begging for affection, or the way the she pushes a book out of my hands, or tries to nuzzle onto my lap when I’m typing. She’s an 85 pound dog! She thinks she’s a lap dog. And when I’m doing the dishes, she’s there hovering, trying to lick any extra morsel off the plate. I ask her if she has any dignity at all.
Which, in many ways, she doesn’t. When she goes out to poo we’re always there, watching. The kids, well, they do torture her, and she puts up with it with sighs and blinks. Buster is the worst offender, Missy is quickly catching on to the games, and Bubba…well Bubba treats everyone the same. He squishes all of our noses and pokes us all in the eyes. He doesn’t discriminate. And the beautiful thing about Doheny is when I’m tired of the constant begging and whining from ALL 4 OF THEM… I can put her in her kennel in the laundry room. It’s a beautiful thing.
And as much as she behaves like one of my children, sometimes I wish I could just kennel up them for a few hours. 
Good Enough
Eliminating your feelings of inadequacy, one post at a time.
