I do not want a dog.  There. I said it.  It is now in black and white.  We will NOT get a dog.  That is my mantra. I am as firm as I can be on the subject. That being said,  I am well aware I am going to be outnumbered when the question actually gets posed.  I am assuming it will be in a few years when O is about 5.  You see, my husband is a true dog person.  He, in full juxtaposition to me, says we WILL get a dog.  He doesn’t say it in a challenging, jerky manner at all.  He says it as a matter of fact, which is worse. Because I have a sneaking feeling,  I will be worn down and will concede to the puppy plea.  To be truthful, my husband has almost already worn me down.  Add my little then 5 year old boy pleading for a puppy to the mix and I am a goner for sure.

I know all reasons why people like to have a dog.  They are fun and sweet and cuddly…blah blah yada yada.  But dogs are also a huge commitment.  They are messy.  Hairy.  Slobbery.  Not to mention destructive at times.  I, on the other hand, am a clean freak.  You could eat off of my floors and I prefer it that way.  A dog ends that immediately.  Everyone I know who has a dog says, “You just have to vacuum a lot.”  Well, I already vacuum a lot.  And one thing I know for sure is that it will most likely be me doing the extra cleaning.

Yet, as much as I fight the notion, I somehow know it is a lost cause.  Because even now on this rainy autumn day, as the raindrops hit the skylight above me, I can envision a sweet golden lab nestled in my lap.  I am realizing quite quickly, that I am my own worst enemy in this situation.  You can’t not want something and want it all at the same time.  Well, you can, but it most always leads to actually getting said something.  Woof.  I am in for it.

My husband says that a family needs to time the procuring of a dog properly. The idea he says, is that you time it so that the dog’s life expectancy coincides with when your child goes off to college…and then you are free.  Ugh.  I don’t know.  All I know for sure is that I don’t want a dog, but I most surely will have one.  Not only will I have one, but I will assuredly clean up after him, walk him, bathe him, and on occasion, even enjoy him.  But above all, I suppose I will welcome him into our family and love him.  And then we will get a weekly cleaning service.

Until next time, keep fighting the good fight, and remember, behind every great kid is a mom who is pretty sure she is screwing it up.  Thanks for reading.  Woof! Xo