Growing up Fast

Raising Cinder is pretty similar to being a parent: constant supervision required, constant trips to potty outside (also supervised), feeding, teaching things, play time, disrupted sleep in early morning hours...  Even bedtime has a ritual similar to my son's-a snack of frozen yogurt; and off to bed.  You try your best to love and raise them, hoping you're doing the right things-at least as right as you can in the given conditions. But the hardest thing is to spend every day with them and suddenly REALLY notice that they're growing up-fast!

I can hide behind this!

I be stuck now!

     Sometimes it seems like I just brought home my tiny little Cinder puppy. She was a little bit smaller than my foot at the time.  Two months have passed since then.  I look at her now and wonder where my little puppy went!  In two months, she's grown so fast that there have been times when one day she was so small she could fit into the tiniest spaces and the next day, she's either gotten stuck or can't even get into those same spaces because she's truly grown overnight.

"Sit"-GOOD CINDER!"

    Like children, it's sometimes hard to remember that despite her growth and all she's learned, she's really only been to "kindergarten."  It seems she ought to be in "middle school" by now, but she's only rounding the corner to head for first grade in another month or so.  I have friends that due to time and distance, have not yet met Cinder in person. By the time they do, she will surely seem at least half grown even at less than six months old.

      I have totally enjoyed having a puppy in the house again, but I'm glad I am able to do it now and not in the five years from now that I'd planned to think about another puppy.  Waiting five more years would've been too long.  Gilley and Buzz would definitely be too old to play with a puppy by then; and they'd be far less tolerant of one by then.  As it is, it took three weeks before the boys accepted and regularly engaged with Cinder for more than a couple minutes. Now, they are all BFF's-playing and racing together as if they've always been a threesome.  

      Cinder's been good for all of us despite the moments of frustration we've all had with her puppy antics at times.  Buzz has truly learned to play for the first time in his life since he was a tiny puppy.  Gilley has always loved playing and now, Cinder is his regular play pal.  Cinder is such a sweetheart and lovebug that we're enjoying her puppy neediness of us and our affections.  She's reminded Brian that parenting-puppies or children-really is a job and doesn't wait just because we're tired or we don't feel great. She's reminded me that despite the hardships of daily struggles, there can be great joys and one of those is being needed; another is being loved.  There is something to be said about being a parent - to a child or a puppy - you can learn as much from them as they will ever learn from you if you allow yourself to be taught.  Cinder's turning out to be a good little teacher for such a young puppy that's growing up fast!

     And now, a return to daily life and the evening chores that await, including those chores that are part of raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris