Bill and I watched “Marley & Me” last weekend. I have no idea why I wanted to watch it. I had started the book about a year ago and then stopped about half way through. I knew where this was going and I wanted no part of it. But for some reason I decided we would watch the movie. When the movie ended and I was bawling like a baby I looked over at Abby, my goofy yellow lab. The poor thing has really been put on the back burner for about five years. Abby enjoyed many great times before we had kids. We would take her into the woods and let her run free. She would jump into the dirtiest swamps and be so happy for the rest of the day. We both worked during the day so I took her to…and I can’t believe it now….doggy day care. I remember one day I went to drop Abby off at day care and the woman at the front desk said “It’s Fido’s birthday party today. Do you have a gift to drop off?”. I looked on the table behind her and saw that there were about 10 gifts WRAPPED already waiting for the big party. I felt a little pressured and said “no, but can I buy that chew toy on the wall and have it wrapped for him?” Oh yes, I did.
Abby adjusted really well to having a baby in the house. She immediately loved Catherine (even on the days we weren’t so sure about it) and enjoyed being fed from her plate. She has never been aggressive towards the kids (I have told them a million times that if I was a dog I would have bitten them by now with all the stuff they put her through). She is always a loving companion.
The point of this is that sometimes in the shuffle of having kids we forget about our little animal friends. Animals are a lot like kids but in some ways they are even better. An animal can always tell when you’ve had a hard day and will just lay quietly with you to snuggle. Try telling your kid you’ve had a hard day. Go ahead, try it. You will get no sympathy – just a request for a refill on the juice. I’m sure the memory of the movie will wear off but for now I am thinking about going home to play catch with Abby.
2 comments:
Didn't I TELL you not to watch that movie?! Remember using our lunch break to go watch Abby on the closed-circuit TVs at daycare?? What dorks. But you're right about the unconditional love thing. Maybe I'll give Molly a scritch later...
Ugh...yes, I DO remember doing that. That is all we talked about? I still remember the story about you guys having Molly try on her snow booties. LOL! And yes, you did tell me. I never listen....
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