Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Blogs I Did Not Write

I have thought of several blogs to write, none of which were done.  I started on several but did not want to become the ranter.  So I did not write about:

1.  My lack of understanding for the hype about Fifty Shades of Grey.  Seems to me it is a film that appears to condone domestic violence (does no really mean no?), porn, and perversion.  I don't believe these  should be something women promote.  But I am old.

2.  My lack of understanding over the attack on education.  Yes, I am a private school person, but yes, I believe we need strong public schools.  It is for the betterment of everyone if parents have good solid choices for their children's education.  Right now, everyone in education is in trouble.

3.  My frustration with people who do not clean up after their dogs in areas where many people walk.  I get it if the dogs are in fields or rarely visited areas, but poop on the sidewalk or right next to it drives me crazy.

I have forgotten some of the others that I knew I needed to pen, so they must not have been as important to me.  But these are the rants I decided not to post!

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Puppy Love

We knew life would change when we picked up the puppies right before Christmas.  I had forgotten how much fun . . . and work . . . puppies are.

First, we had to begin potty training.  When we first started, it was really cold.  Remember, it was January and February.  We had snow on the ground.  Wind chills were low, low, and lower.  Yet there I was in the back yard, freezing to death, saying, "Go potty, go potty, go potty, good boy, good boy, good boy."  Perhaps the neighbors thought I was crazy?  Jordy caught on rather quickly, and if we caught him going to the door, he rarely goofed up.  Nelson, not so much.  We are still having occasional accidents with him, but they are becoming fewer and farther between.  Now that the weather is getting better, they are able to spend more time outside, which is helping.  I knew that having puppies in the winter would be hard, but by summer, they will be trained, and it will be behind us.

Second, teaching them to sit/stay/come, etc. takes a long time.  They caught on to the rattling of the keys very quickly.  When I shake them, they come running and get a treat.  They are catching onto sit and stay, but it is taking a lot of repetition.

Third, the vacuum is getting a workout.  Their fur attracts every leaf, frond, and stick in the yard, and they end up all over the living room (mostly).  We have had to run the vacuum nearly every day, which is normal for some people, but unusual for us.

Fourth, they have stolen our hearts.  Their little faces, the way they wiggle when they see us, their curiosity, their rough and tumble play . . . and then their collapse when they fall asleep.  They make us laugh.

If we feel like this about a dog, I cannot wait to hold our grandbaby!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Rest

Diana and Nick left for Austin on Sunday, but Di stopped at her cousin's in Dallas, as she was concerned about driving eight hours (her doc was nervous about it, too).  When I called her on Monday, it was obvious she had been crying.  She expressed that she was rethinking the whole wedding idea.  It was too fast, too much had happened . . . it just wasn't right.

Once she arrived in Austin, she and Nick agreed to postpone the wedding, but by the weekend, Diana knew that she was not ready to go through with it.  She took back the ring, and that was it.

I have never gone through anything like this before.  It is hard to see one's child in pain, and I couldn't fix it.  Only she could do that.  It is also hard to see someone else in pain . . . I couldn't fix that, either.  Both of them were hurting, but love does that.

When Don and I were dating, a priest with whom we talked told us love makes one the most vulnerable ever, can hurt worse than anything, but is worth all of the pain it can cause.  I would agree, but it doesn't make it any easier.

I am proud of the way both parties have handled this.  It could have been nightmarishly awful, but the respect they have shown for each other has been heartening.  There are no gory details, they are not spreading stories . . . it is just a case of two people figuring out that although they loved each other, they were not right for each other.  Reminds me of the movie The Way We Were, with Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand.

Anyway, it has been a busy three months.  I am hoping that things calm down a little, and that Diana finds peace with her decision.  I am sure she will.