My parents are visiting this weekend. With them, they brought my dog. I had this dog for nine years, ever since she was an eight week old puppy. She was with me through everything up until September. In September, my parents offered to take her for the upcoming winter months. The intention was to help me out so that I wouldn't have to wake up early to walk the dog with my son in the cold and so that I wouldn't have to walk her alone at night with my son as well. It was very weird at first, not having a dog. It was quiet and lonely when my son and I would come home to an absolutely silent home. It was even more quiet and lonely at night after my son went to sleep and it really was just me, alone with my thoughts. But, as with everything else, I adapted. It was nice to sleep in a little bit later in the mornings since I didn't have to get everyone ready for that early walk. It's nice to not have to rush to get home from work, the zoo, any sort of outing to let a dog out to go the bathroom. The little break was needed and appreciated.
As it turned out, my father, who is retired, and my dog, who likes the quiet attention of an older person, are a perfect pair. They keep each other company during the day and they help keep each other fit and active with multiple daily walks. So, my dog's new home is now with my parents. My parents and I discussed this arrangement and for my dog it really is the best situation for her. My parent's have a house and a yard. My father is home during the day... Yet, it's just another thing.
However, she is here with me now in New York visiting. It is so nice to see her. To see her with my son, to see them play together. She still seeks out her favorite spots in the apartment to take her naps, to eat her treats, and to plop her toys. It's as if she has never left.
The past two days I have taken her for her nightly walks. I've taken her on the usual routes that I have taken so many times in the nearly two years that I have lived in this neighborhood. There was a comfort and a familiarity in these walks that I have missed. Between my two dogs, I must have walked over a thousand miles over the course of the ten years I had them. They were our babies. No, we didn't dress them up and take them into grocery stores. Instead we'd walk them rain or shine, hot or cold (that includes snowstorms and hurricanes!). They went on vacations with us to the beach house. We'd wake up super early to walk them before a long rode trip. I even waited while my husband took the dogs for a quick walk before going to the hospital when I was in labor! These dogs were just an important part of our daily lives. Now she is officially not living with me and I have adapted to life without her. So when I do see her, she now remind me of my old life.
Both nights as I walked with my dog, I couldn't help but feel as if my old life was sitting right there, just out of arms reach. The first night, last night, I actually had to remind myself that when I returned home from this walk, I would be returning to my parents. It wasn't old times. I can't ever go back to old times no matter how far I would be willing to walk backwards.
As it turned out, my father, who is retired, and my dog, who likes the quiet attention of an older person, are a perfect pair. They keep each other company during the day and they help keep each other fit and active with multiple daily walks. So, my dog's new home is now with my parents. My parents and I discussed this arrangement and for my dog it really is the best situation for her. My parent's have a house and a yard. My father is home during the day... Yet, it's just another thing.
However, she is here with me now in New York visiting. It is so nice to see her. To see her with my son, to see them play together. She still seeks out her favorite spots in the apartment to take her naps, to eat her treats, and to plop her toys. It's as if she has never left.
The past two days I have taken her for her nightly walks. I've taken her on the usual routes that I have taken so many times in the nearly two years that I have lived in this neighborhood. There was a comfort and a familiarity in these walks that I have missed. Between my two dogs, I must have walked over a thousand miles over the course of the ten years I had them. They were our babies. No, we didn't dress them up and take them into grocery stores. Instead we'd walk them rain or shine, hot or cold (that includes snowstorms and hurricanes!). They went on vacations with us to the beach house. We'd wake up super early to walk them before a long rode trip. I even waited while my husband took the dogs for a quick walk before going to the hospital when I was in labor! These dogs were just an important part of our daily lives. Now she is officially not living with me and I have adapted to life without her. So when I do see her, she now remind me of my old life.
Both nights as I walked with my dog, I couldn't help but feel as if my old life was sitting right there, just out of arms reach. The first night, last night, I actually had to remind myself that when I returned home from this walk, I would be returning to my parents. It wasn't old times. I can't ever go back to old times no matter how far I would be willing to walk backwards.
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| This is one of my favorite pictures of Skye. <3 |
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