After many years of denying our boys the benefit of a dog, we caved. It’s been two years since we brought Baxter home. I knew from the get-go, that Baxter would become my responsibility. I knew that the excitement of a new dog would wear off within the first couple of walks. Did the boys honestly think that once we had a dog, that it would never rain or snow on the East Coast?? Or, did they assume that dogs don’t need walking in bad weather? And didn’t they realize that dogs do in fact need to relieve themselves in the evenings? There was no doubt in my mind that the energy that was exerted by our kids, and the promises that they made (with good intentions, I’m sure) in their efforts to persuade us, would quickly evaporate once the victory was achieved. I knew that having a dog would require more attention than our boys truly understood or were truly willing to give. I knew that their dedication to a dog would conflict with af...
Everyone goes through "stages" or "chapters' in their lives, whether its wanting to move out of the city and buy a farm, or learn to roller blade and lose those unwanted pounds, or join a book club or bridge club and become more "rounded", or sign up for that design class you were always sorry you didn't pursue. Sometimes these stages present themselves without effort and we consider it "meant to be". And yet sometimes it just HAS to be...