Room to Breathe: Outsourcing my lovely puppy.

How could I resist?

New Puppy. Oh how I fell in love at first sight with this little girl who is now called Treya. We met at the dog rescue in front of our local farmers' market and I couldn't live without her. I have not had a new puppy as an adult. Our last dog was a rescue, but she was 6 and was house trained and not FULL of energy CONSTANTLY.

Well, this little girl (who is now sitting on my lap as I type this... actually resting her fluffy head on my right fore-arm which keeps it warm and makes a little challenging to type!) is another BABY. Monday night, the second day she lived with us, I could not think straight. Delilah needed help with homework, Hannah needed me with her crayons, David wasn't home yet, the dinner was cooking and Treya was peeing on the sofa. I stood in the kitchen and cried into the broccoli. My girls gathered around me and said, "it's OK mommy".

Me typing with Treya on arms - Photo by 4 year old Hannah

But I knew I had pushed myself too far. I do have the habit of extending myself and I hear it is a trait of A type personalities and moms. When you have an A-type and a Mom combo (that's me), it can get very intense. The mantra from "The Little Engine That Could" comes to mind "I think I can I think I can". But my mantra must change to  "I think I better rest, I think I better rest".

I realized the puppy was too much for me. I called my mom, like I always do when I need fine spiritual guidance, and she agreed that it was too much on my plate. She had been looking for another dog to go with her older doggie Winston



and we decided that my mom would take Treya (named for Matreya, the future Buddha). My mom just had a big birthday and this is the perfect way for her to infused her life with new, young energy!

Winston and Treya

So, the story ends happily ever-after. The dog is in the family (it takes a village) and will be loved by all,  just trained and raised in a home without Winnie-The-Poohs and tiny sandals for her to teeth on. And the moral of the story is, sometimes I have to make tough choices. Love is not enough...it's a mater of being sensitive to myself, my time and my energy and my priorities. I don't want to neglect my girls when they need me in order to care for the dog. Not now anyway when she is ALL my responsibility. I'll wait til the girls can clean up pee and take her for a walk. I'll give my self some room to breathe. It feels wonderful to breathe. Try it now.