Chaos?

I haven’t posted in awhile because, surprisingly, adding a puppy to our household did throw the whole life thing into a bit of tornado.

There were boys. There was a dog. There were accidents. Both children and dog related. There was biting – also children and dog related (stop biting your brother! Stop biting the boys!!). But then there were snuggles, kisses, and time training…all of us.

I had a day, then another day, when I asked myself what on earth I signed up for. There was a fleeting moment of remembering all the terrible memories I’d successfully blocked when we brought a puppy into our home after our best dog Scruffy died.

Can we do this? Can I do this??

Seth and I sprinted away for our anniversary weekend. We found a puppy sitter for the dog, a Nana to watch the youngest, and a Grandma to play with the older two boys. I wrote lots of notes, packed many bags, and then we shuttled everyone to their places.

When my husband and I arrived at our hotel, free of any responsibilities for two nights, we collapsed.

Then, the two of us woke up and hiked. We laughed. We played. We are well and we saved the resting for a good night’s sleep at the end of it all.

Back home with the noise, the barking, the biting, I feel, if however brief it might be, this is how our lives are supposed to unfold. There is a dog, there are three boys, and there is a controlled bit of chaos that borders on overwhelming chaos some days.

And there is respite, always a tiny weekend of respite.