Cronic joy

I’ve always loved dogs. I’ve always thought people could be a little nuts about their dogs, but I knew that if I ever had a dog, I wouldn’t be one of those crazy dog people.

I also said for a long time that I couldn’t have an indoor dog because I have indoor children. I have also on occasion considered making my children outdoor children. But that’s a different story.

For this story, let’s jump back to November of 2023, late in the month I was struggling to figure out what I was going to get everyone for Christmas. A decade ago this was an easier task. Some legos, a couple books, a new video game, and BAM! Christmas was taken care of! Now it’s not so easy.

In the midst of the struggle, a friend of mine shared a post of some sweet little goldendoodles. When I went to my husband with this crazy idea of doing one gift for everyone for Christmas, and this gift being, gasp, a dog… you should have heard the bellyaching. I was very aware, however, that he was just being a husband, and he kind of liked the idea.

When I brought in this little puppy a few days before Christmas, you could have knocked the boys over with a feather.

There were a few things I wasn’t prepared for. As you might be aware, my husband got a new job and we had to move several states away. All of a sudden I was on my own with Noah, an upcoming high school graduate, abusy twelve-year-old, and a brand new puppy.

But here’s the thing. The puppy was a huge blessing. He was just the distraction we needed when dad was gone. He was sweet, and hilarious. He be-bopped around making everyone laugh. He filled empty time (i.e. screen time) with ball throwing and towel tugging. He chewed on EVERYTHING.

I was prepared for the dog to be this huge chore. I wasn’t prepared for him to be so fun. I wasn’t prepared for us to miss him so much when he was gone for a week for training. I wasn’t prepared when he started jumping up and laying on Noah when he had a seizure. I wasn’t prepared for us to turn into these crazy baby-talking dog people.

But here we are. Indoor children and an indoor dog. My biggest problem will be trying to come up with the next set of Christmas presents.