On Everything and Nothing March 31, 2015

It starts the same every time. I can see it in the eyes of my dear forever mom from the moment she wakes. This is going to be a good day, she thinks. Today I will get it all done.

I have to say it has intensified since she became a mom to dear baby Carter. I guess it makes sense since he is a reason the list itself is naturally longer now than it was before. From laundry to doctors appointments to simply cleaning up after the messes a toddler tornado can make in a day, he is his very own list maker. 

Today was no different, as she set out to accomplish x, y, z for work, and clean the house and take Carter to the doctor over lunch, squeeze in a run to the store, accomplish a, b, c for work and make dinner. In itself, it wasn’t that unheard of for her to think she could do it all. Except that she’s still sick. And Carter is a little sick. And none of that is as easy to accomplish under those circumstances.

It hit her hard around 3 p.m. when she realized basically the only things that got done were x, y, z for work and Carter’s doctor appointment. The visit to the store was a failure, since she forgot the two things she went for in the first place. And she hadn’t had a second to eat a proper breakfast or lunch, let alone give a second thought to dinner or cleaning the house.

It ends the same every time. There’s a sense of defeat in the air and I can feel mom’s heavy heart weighing on her as if it were my own.

The thing is, I know she knows it as well as I do: the problem is sometimes “it” is legitimately impossible. Sometimes the list literally is too long to achieve. Sometimes you can’t do it all. And that’s okay. Because sometimes when you feel like you got nothing done, it means you got everything done you were meant to that day. And everything is always better than nothing.

 

Making a Splash

To think that little kiddo now loves running around ‘nakie’ as we say around here.

Wiley's Wisdom

I know it’s necessary. I sure wish it wasn’t. The dreaded bath. I have a love/hate relationship with this most simple and basic necessity. Namely, I hate getting wet. Please remember this is coming from your resident doggie optimist who makes it a point to find the silver lining in all things. It’s not like me to complain. But misery loves company and I found some today in Baby Carter.

It wasn’t his first bath since being home, but it was by far the most tumultuous. I have heard my fair share of screeching cries (most of which pierce right through my little doggie heart) in his almost three weeks with us, but today he hit a whole new range of emotional distress. From which I have gathered that he too hates baths. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this, since he has not been quiet about his hatred…

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Coming Home March 30, 2015

The first three years in my forever home, it was unchanging. My favorite time of day was at night when both of my forever people were home from that place called work and we all were together. It was that simple.

Since dear baby Carter arrived, it has changed multiple times. First it was my alone time with my dear forever mom after Carter was in bed. Then it was family time before baby bedtime. Now my heart has changed it up on me again, which I’m honestly a lot less surprised about this time around. 

In a million years I didn’t think anyone could ever be as excited to see my people come through the door of my forever home as I am. For almost five years, I have made it among my most important life’s missions to make sure my mom and dad feel my enthusiasm about their return home whether they were gone a minute or all day.

But I was wrong. Someone other than me can show the same (if not more) level of excitement about that key turning in the door. There’s running and squealing with glee as dear Carter and I make our way to greet our parents with all the love and joy and happiness we stored up in our hearts while they were away. It’s one of a few ways we’ve already become the dynamic duo I always knew we would be.

It happened today after mom was gone a grand total of about an hour and a half. She went to that place called the doctor to have the new little person checked out. When she returned, you would think she’d been gone for weeks the way Carter carried on. He and I did what we always do in running to the door together, but he took over from there.

He was squealing with glee the entire time he ran from the living room to the kitchen, and practically jumped into her arms. While I will admit I miss the days I would be the one doing the jumping, what happened next warmed my heart in a way that made me forget all of that.

The second he was in her arms, he leaned in for a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Joy. From the ground up, it lived in that moment when I realized my favorite time of day has changed yet again.

I do still love my alone time with mom after Carter is in bed. And the family time we enjoy together before bedtime. But those moments, those precious moments, when my dear forever parents come home and my partner in crime and I are able to bring joy to life? My new favorite time of day lives in those moments.

In My Corner

We will learn a lot from each other, Carter and I.

Wiley's Wisdom

Take it or leave it. Regardless of the chapters I have experienced in five years of doggie life, that has always been my approach to one thing. Me. My personality. Who I am. It’s something I developed a long time ago and nothing can change this one little thing about me.

I think it’s something people struggle with sometimes, but for me it has never really been a question. I have nothing to hide. I have no reason to act any differently. I am confident in who I am.

I realized it today, when mom and dad had a couple of visitors who I had only met once or twice before. I was not aggressive, but Jesse needed to know baby Carter is my special little person. I stayed very close to the baby and watched Jesse’s every move.

“Oh, Wiley’s protective,” Jesse noted. Well of course I am, I…

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To Be Still March 29, 2015

The sky cried today. It was dreary and cold and windy outside. But none of that mattered, because there were no tears inside. There was only warmth and laughter and relaxation. 

The bad news is that had a lot to do with the fact that this illness that my dear forever mom has is spreading. Between dad’s sneezing and dear baby Carter’s coughing, all I can say is I’m pretty relieved things like this usually don’t pass to man’s four-legged friends.

The good news is it was a day to remember. I honestly can’t recall the last time I watched as all of my dearest people spent the day together in their pajamas. It didn’t matter that the sky was crying and it was cold and dreary outside.

Inside there was playing and resting and playing some more. There was snuggling and cuddling. There was joy, from the ground up.

Yes, there was also sneezing and coughing. And yes, no one is feeling 100 percent. But today, as I snuggled into a spot much too small for me next to mom and dad and Carter on the couch, I realized how important these days are to have every now and then.

It doesn’t necessarily need to happen in pajamas, but there was something nice (and cozy) about the fact that it did. As a (somewhat professional) observer of people, I can say with some authority that today was necessary regardless of the coughs and sneezes.

The reasons are different for everyone. Around here, it’s been all things baby No. 2 lately, with endless errands to stockpile things like diapers and make sure the nursery is just as it should be. Weekend respite from the daily grind doesn’t always happen like it should between nap times, at least not with groceries to buy and cleaning and laundry to be done. Rat race takes on a whole new meaning when there’s a new little person on the way.

So what happened today was special. Sometimes you really do just need to be still. To be together.

Days like today are not only good for their health. Days like today are good for their hearts.

 

The Luck We Make

So many things in life money can’t buy.

Wiley's Wisdom

I don’t mean to be rude. Quite the opposite in fact. I make it a business of mine to speak the truth in love. Even if it hurts. And even though I can’t speak. (At least not on command).

Truth. From the ground up, I have some to share today. It occurred to me as I watched more snow diamonds fall from heaven. Snow is a pretty common occurrence in the beautiful state of Wisconsin, but it never ceases to amaze me with its understated beauty. In today’s peaceful stillness of the snowfall I found myself counting the flakes, each one a reminder of the blessings I have in life.

Family. Love. Loyalty. So many things money can’t buy, all at my paws at a moment’s notice. But I wouldn’t say this makes me lucky. The truth is, I wouldn’t call myself lucky. Friends and family call me this all…

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All That I Know Is March 28, 2015

There’s this old song I’ve heard only a few times in my life. It’s one of those little diddys that you hear once and it kind of sticks with you (whether you like it or not). In my case, it’s been a song that even comes to mind from time to time for no good reason at all. 

“Where am I going? I don’t know! When will I get there? I ain’t certain! All that I know is I am on my way!”

Today it happened while I was playing a hybrid game of peek-a-boo and chase with dear baby Carter. He was hiding in his play tent and I was trying to lure him out to chase me. He’s usually much more into me chasing him than the other way around, but the roles reversed today. And it was fun.

He laughed and I wagged and all was well in our little play world.

As the playtime drew to a close I found myself thinking of that song. Where were we going? It didn’t matter. When will we get there? Neither of us cared. All that we knew is we were having fun.

I find that to be the case sometime as even my forever people and extended family have playtime with my dear toddler. It’s like time stops and no one cares how silly they would look if a stranger saw what was happening. None of that matters in this land of imagination where anything is possible and laughter doesn’t stop.

It’s a world that was missing from my forever home until Carter came into it. One where you can be silly and play make believe and step away from it all. One where it truly doesn’t matter where you’re going or when you’ll get there as long as you’re having fun.

For a snapshot of the the world I speak of, click here.

The Diaper Change Fiasco

“Dang, you’re heavy,” I heard dad say, as (I think) he tried to change a diaper I definitely wasn’t wearing.

Wiley's Wisdom

I thought for a second I was in a dream. But I definitely was not. What was happening was real. And it kind of freaked me out. Last night somewhere in the wee hours, dad picked me up out of bed, held me like a baby, and attempted to put me in something I’ve heard called a changing table.

“Dang, you’re heavy,” he half-stammered in his sleepy state. That’s when I figured it out. He thought I was Carter. He had mistaken all 20 pounds of terrier that I am for his child and was about to change my nonexistent diaper. I couldn’t have that (any more than I could wear such a diaper contraption), so I wiggled my way out of that situation right quick.

It wasn’t until morning that it all paid off for me. It happened as dad retold the story to mom, who miraculously managed to…

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A Moment in Motion March 27, 2015

I’m not going to lie. There has been a lot of not the best things happening around here. From the illnesses and the teething and the cold weather and the tick bite, it hasn’t been a banner couple of weeks in my forever home. Finding the silver lining has been necessary lately, and it hasn’t necessarily always been easy.

Today required no such effort. Today, joy came to me in a way I wasn’t expecting in a moment I wasn’t expecting it.

My dear grandma was here again this afternoon helping tend to Carter so my forever mom could rest her ailing self. She and mom were talking about something that sounded unpleasant waiting for Carter to fall asleep for his nap when it happened.

I watched as mom frantically grabbed for her mom’s hand and put it on her stomach. At first I didn’t get it. Then I remembered, almost in the same moment as grandma felt it.

The baby! My new little person was reportedly doing all kinds of somersaults and other acrobatics throughout the day today and at that moment, my grandma got to be the first person to feel the action (other then mom, obviously).

There was something special about it I couldn’t quite put my paw on at first. I know mom was relieved because she had worried so much about any medicines she’d been taking (so she saw movement as a good sign). I’m sure grandma felt a similar sense of relief by proxy (I know I did).

There was more to it than that, though. And it took me a bit to realize what it was. I will never know or understand what it’s like to be a mom, but in that moment, I think I witness motherhood coming full circle.

My mom was sharing a special moment with her mom that only moms can really share together.

I was just happy to be there to see it all unfold. Especially given all the not-so-great things that have been happening around here lately. Sure, they all have their very own silver linings. But the challenges also have an inherent power to make those moments of real, unadulterated joy that much more meaningful.

Mind Over Matter

Babies write their own pregnancy books. And no two are the same.

Wiley's Wisdom

We thought we were so smart. Reading all those books, blogs and message boards. Doing all that research. Getting the nursery ready. Well, mom did at least. I knew better. I knew that baby Carter would write his own book. And he has not disappointed.

His nights and days are flip flopped. Sometimes he cries when there is nothing to cry about. And then he smiles in his sleep about who knows what. I’ll be honest. I know nothing about babies. Absolutely nothing, other than what I’ve heard my forever mom and dad discuss between themselves, and the odds and ends advice they’ve gotten from the visitors in the last couple of weeks.

But I do know this. From what I can tell, my dear little person is every bit of the blessing I knew he would be. He is strong. He is healthy. He sleeps enough. Mom and dad…

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