Three weeks ago we added a new baby to our household. His name is Pilgrim.
As I write he is sitting beside me nibbling on my leg when he should be nibbling on a toy. The mother instinct in me loves having a baby in the house again. He's snuggly, tiny, has that baby pup smell. Everyone keeps saying I am crazy to add a puppy - asking, "Don't you have enough going on?" I haven't had a puppy in a long time and taking care of this little guy has made me realize that unlike my true motherhood role, this one only gets easier with time.
The challenge of puppy rearing is right up front - house training, crate training, walking on a leash. Immediately putting up the child gates to keep them out of unwanted places. Keeping destruction to a minimum. And teaching them to obey your commands all take place in the first six months. And then around their first birthday, they settle down and become a great companion for life.
Babies on the other hand are demanding little creatures with the constant nursing and diaper changes. And then the around the age of 1, the real work begins. You have to teach them to socialize. At two you have tantrums, at three and four you are teaching them rules and manners. And then they get a little older and you are faced with the demands of schools, extra curricular activities that expose them to sports and music but take a whole lot of shuffling from point A to point B, speech therapy and eye therapy. You find yourself having to make difficult decisions to ensure success later in life. Around six or seven they start disobeying and defying your authority, as if they know what's best. Oh, and what I really am not ready to handle has just started...the curiosity. About THAT stuff... I've recently engaged in some seriously humorous conversations.
Chapel: Mom, I don't want to have a baby, it would hurt too much.
Me: Oh, Chapel, once you hold that baby you won't remember any of that.
Chapel: But I think it would really hurt my penis....
Me: What? You don't have a penis. A penis is what we call Jude and Eli's wink.....
Chapel: Oh (long pause)...... well then Olivia J. has it ALL wrong!!!!!
Chapel: Mom, when Dad took us to Spencer's to buy disco lights for our dance party, I saw these tuxedo underwear for men that said Serving It Up Hot! And I know what that means.....
Me: Oh yeah? What does it mean?
Chapel: Well you know, a waiter wears a tuxedo and serves you food that is hot and then a guy can be hot.
Me: Oh my! I guess you do know what that means!
Ah, motherhood does come in many forms. In the end, I am just working toward creating good life companions and good citizens, whether they be of the human or canine variety. There are no certainties and no shortcuts, just a whole lot of hard work!
