Who Needs a Ring When You Can Have a Puppy??

So, on Sunday, January 25th, I became a Mom. My entry into motherhood was not entailed with my legs being in stirrups for hours, pushing painfully while drenched in sweat and screaming at the top of my lungs. I left work on Sunday night and headed to Anderson to spend my usual week with Enon. Retrospectively, Enon was kind of sucking up all day. When I'd gotten up to go to work Sunday morning, he'd run to McDonald's to get me coffee and breakfast. When I called him on my lunch break, he admitted that he was in the middle of doing all my laundry, and he anxiously wondered if I was going to get off at a decent hour if it would be another long workday. Now, don't get me wrong...Enon has his moments of glory, but I guess I should've suspected something given that he had been on his best behavior all day, making sure I noticed all the sweet things he had done for me. When I got to Anderson, Enon said he had an early Valentine's Day present for me which was a book about Labrador Retrievers. He said he'd gotten it so I'd be better prepared for when I finally did get a puppy to which I wailed, "ugh, this is only going to make me want a puppy even more!" I guess I should've caught his grin then, but still, I suspected nothing. He told me to take my stuff into his room so that we could get ready for dinner. As I walked into his room, sitting on the bed in a pink basket was Daisy. After staring at her for a moment and wondering if she was real or if this was just a horrible practical joke, she opened her eyes and looked up at me and I immediately felt tears rush to my eyes. I was in love!



In the past 4 days, my life has changed dramatically. Sunday night, I got up 4 times to help Daisy potty train. At 3am, she decided she was in the mood to play. When I couldn't get her to go back into her crate to go to sleep, I let her rest beside the bed because I was so exhausted that I couldn't hold up my heavy eyelids a second longer. When we got up at 6:30 with Enon, I figured that this is what a new mother must feel like when she first brings her baby home. The rest of the morning was spent alternating between naps and playtime. In the afternoon, we went to the vet where she howled the whole time since she was in an unfamiliar place. I cradled her in my arms and rocked her until she was soothed to quiet wimpering. We made it through the check-up where she spit up one of her medications and was not taking to the treats they kept offering. She wailed the entire car ride to PetSmart to pick up additional supplies, and by the time we were ready to go home, she fell asleep with her head in the cup holder of my console. And that was just Monday.

The rest of the week was spent in a similar fashion. Tuesday, I cried when I had to leave her to go to the grocery store, and she wailed the entire time she was left in her crate. Wednesday, we worked more fiercly on crate training to which she voluntarily entered her crate multiple times. We also worked on walking with the leash, and sitting on command. By Thursday, we were all worn out that we spent the morning laying in bed watching TV until Enon came home at lunch feeling nauseous. Then the three of us cuddled up to take a refreshing nap, followed by more TV time and eventually a bath. It was the busiest week I've had in a long time, and even though she's just a dog, I felt a love that was more intense than anything I'd ever had that wasn't romantic. I hardly found time to put on make-up this week because my time was devoted to something other than myself which was refreshing so much fun! Daisy is absolutely perfect, and I'm so incredibly grateful that Enon found her and loves me enough to give her to me as the most perfect Valentine's Day present ever! Who needs a ring?? Being Daisy's mama is enough for now, and I know that a ring will come soon enough. Besides, right now it would simply just be another thing for the puppy to chew on....

Until next time...