Get the Dog

Listen, if you want to get talked out of getting a puppy, you came to the wrong place.

We got our first dog when we were camping up north with friends. We spotted a little white fluff ball running in the woods. Next thing we knew, we were proud puppy parents of Jack Morris, named after the road we found him on. A couple years later, we added Cleopatra to our crew, a dog we adopted from my cousin's boyfriend after his dog accidentally got knocked up. Jack and Cleo quickly became the best of friends. They were with us for a long time. They were both lab mixes, one white and one black.

When Jack and Cleopatra had both gone on to the great puppy pastures in the sky, or doggie heaven or whatever you want to call it, Chris met a dog at work in need of a new home. So Marla, a redbone coon hound (did you ever read Where the Red Fern Grows?) joined us for a few years.   She was a good, sweet dog...aren't they all?

She left us and Chris especially\was desperate for a dog. He came across a listing for Beagle pups only a mile or so from our house, so then we added Mocha to our family. Less than a year later, Bethany discovered a classmate was looking for homes for his family's beagle pups, so Apollo came to us. Now Mocha and Apollos are best friends just like Jack and Cleo use to be. They might be a little more psycho though. Seriously, they drive ma insane. I think maybe they're suffering from too much togetherness.  Like get out of our house, humans.

In all my 20+ years of being a dog mama. I have never once thought life would be better without them. Get the dog, you won't regret it.

Now is the Perfect Time to Practice Patience

I'm in a severely annoyed mood. I can't shake it, and that is not like me. I'm sure there are a lot of things contributing to that...for example I'M STUCK IN MY HOUSE. I have a tele doctor's appointment tomorrow, which is also annoying. I mean, I'm glad I can do it, but ANNOYING. A clue that I'm incredibly aggravated is that I keep typing in all caps. Sorry, I don't mean to be rude.

Anyway, Easter is drawing to a close, and it has been the strangest Easter in the history of ever. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice enough day. We did our best to make the best of things. We really, really did. And it wasn't bad, I don't mean that. Just different is all.

The funny thing is, I use to hate running to Kroger 10 times a week. Now I just want to go to Kroger, dammit.

So what better time to practice patience? I need all the patience I can get.It is for my own good to flex that patience muscle.

I need to be patient with myself. I've never lived through a global pandemic before. i need to be patient with my kids, they never have either. I need to be patient with their frustrations. They are valid. They might seem petty or annoying to me but they are not.

Deep breaths.

I need to be patient with Apple, but I don't know why. I guess just for the sake of my own sanity.

The thing is, there are so so many things to be annoyed with right just now. But what good is that doing me? There is good in practicing patience. If something keeps popping up in your life, it generally means that there is a lesson in it for you, something important you need to learn. I know that, but I need to remember it.

Right now, the universe is telling me that I need to really learn patience.

I think it's mostly the being stuck. I value being able to go when i want to go. Doesn't matter where. I'm so pissed that I can't. Not pissed at anyone, just MAD. That is probably the primary source of my impatience.

I can do better, I must do better.

Some day in the not too distant future, things will go back to normal-ish again. Not exactly the same, but life will at least feel normal again. A new normal but it is what it is.Everyone will adjust because we won't have a choice. That's just the way it is. I will be patient because I have to. I'm learning, okay? That is the lesson the universe is currently pushing for me to learn and I'm about sick of things being thrust into my life to learn it. So I better hurry up and master this one.

Life is Different Now

First of all, before I get started...one of my new blog posts disappeared. The one about things I never thought I'd do, about getting a tattoo. So if you should happen to see it, please copy and paste and email it to me at alysia75@aol.com. Please and thank you!

Anyway...

I have to wonder if life as we know it has changed. Forever. It just feels like nothing will ever be the same again. I guess how could it be? 

I really hope we now don't take things for granted, like it was so easy to do before. Simple things. Going to dinner with my husband. Taking the kids for ice cream cones. Picking up a book at the library. Going to the gym. Truly, how lucky was I? And believe me, I know that I still am...to be able to quarantine with these people. So many people are alone. There are 6 of us in our quarantine headquarters. It actually feels luxurious. I guess it kind of is. 

Furthermore, rules have pretty much gone out the window. You go to bed when you want. You sleep as late as you want. It's like summertime on steroids up in here. It's gonna be a rough return to reality. But at the same time, I think we're all going to be so happy when things are back to normal. It's going to be a relief to wake up with an alarm and go to school and work. Because right just now it feels like that's never gonna happen. 

If anything good comes of this at all, it's this...I know beyond a shadow of a doubt how incredibly lucky I am. I mean, I think I always did know, but now more than ever. I hope I never forget, not for a second. And I hope the same for anyone reading this.

Yes, life is different now. 

For my kids, they are now growing up in a way I never did, in a way no one did. This is shaping the essence of their being. I hope for the better. What I hope for them is they always appreciate the simple things, the little things that make life beautiful. 

Things I'm Grateful For

What better time to focus on the positives?

Just a few things I'm grateful for...

Reading is like my favorite. So what I'm grateful for is books. I use to have a big long list of books to read on my phone which inexplicably got deleted. Because APPLE. Ugh. Can't live without it but it's definitely a love-hate relationshcip. So now I'm just winging it. I use to request books from the library quite a bit but you know now we aren't allowed to go to libraries. So that's no fun.

A friend of mine (hi Chris!) gave me a bunch of books to read, which I've been slowly making my way through. Another friend (hi Barb!) started a book club, which is obviously on hiatus right now. But she also gives me books, which is very much appreciated. And a customer at Bethany's work, where she is a waitress, brings in books for me. I'm reading one from him right now. Historical fiction about Hitler and how he was always paranoid that someone would poison him.  What a way to live!

So as you can see, it you didn't already know, readers are nice, generous folks.

Okay, something else I'm grateful for: puppies. Because what a boring world it would be (hahahahaha) without my two beagle pups. Mocha is almost 2 and Apollo is almost 1. They are the best of friends and play together like wild maniacs. They give me a reason to go outside every single day. And they are the absolute BEST cuddlers. As much as they drive me nuts, and they do, I'm so grateful to have them.

Okay,let's keep going...

I'm grateful for technology. It allows me to easily check on my loved ones on a regular basis. It allows my kids to keep in touch with their friends. It allows Bethany to keep up with her schoolwork. It allows Mathilda's class to have virtual get togethers. It basically allows us all to survive and function right now. Hard to fathom how differently this would have played out in the 80s.  

There so many more thing I'm so incredibly grateful for, but that's a good start...  

Hello Again

So it's been like 5 years since my last blog post, and what better time to pick up the torch than during a global pandemic. Gosh what has happened in the last 5 years.  Sooooo much...

Well let's start with biggies. A couple years ago, I was diagnosed with MS. That's a whole long story, but it honestly hasn't changed my life that much. The biggest thing, which started this whole journey, is something called optic neuritis. Basically my vision is diminished and no glasses will help it. I can still drive, read, and basically do everything else, but I can't see quite as well. So a pita but could definitely be a million times worse.

A couple (few??) years ago I returned to the workforce. First part time at the shop where my father-in-law works and as a lunch mom at my youngest daughter's elementary school, then as a long term sub at her school, then as a district sub, now at a day care center around the corner from my house. Which of course in now put on hold due to the whole global pandemic thing.

My oldest daughter graduated from high school last year and started cosmetology school. So now I have one in 11th grade, one in 8th grade, and one in 5th. My babies are growing up! And trying to adapt to life as we now know it. The oldest is doing cosmetology school remotely...umm ok. The other 3 are in what's called a 1:1 district, so they all have Chromebooks from school and are all essentially homeschooling themselves. Huge shout out to all of their teachers for doing their very best to make this work. It's not lost on me that this is not what they signed up for. Also huge shout out to my kids for being awesome. Truly, they are.

So I think that's enough for now...just to get my feet wet. Maybe, just maybe, I'll keep this up...