Our Girl

I know I have been posting A LOT lately, but you have to understand, my world is small. Very small, people, like in the 6 and 7 lb. range and a perimeter around the house that extends less than 5 miles. Quick trips to bank and Target while Opie and Omi sit (no, not on them) do not count as social interaction. Oddly enough, this does.

And it is fine. I am loving this new immersion into a world I once just viewed. There is no novelty here, but the intensity might wind down a little. For now, I have plenty of laptop time while soothing the boys during naps or (guilty, yes) during pump sessions.

The real topic of this post is our girl, Mishka. We found Meesh April of last year, her birthday has been declared January 13, so now she hovers on the edge of 1 1/2 years. She is a wonderful dog, loyal to my husband to a fault, but I have a place in her heart as well. We once walked 3-4 miles each morn and I used to bike with her to get the willies out, and boy, does she have willies.

When bed rest came into the picture, her schedule went down the drain. No long walks, Tim would come home and take her to the park, but he is not a walking man and he would often be exhausted and occupied taking care of me.

Enter the Beans, a bit of apprehension on Mama's part and a haywire house...the poor girl went on a hunger strike the first few weeks. I am glad to report things are smoothing out for her, for us all. We followed Cesar Milan's instruction for introducing her to the Beans, it seems to be effective. She no longer has a place in Command Central, but she has a soft bed in the Main Room. She finds her exclusion from the room a bit hard, but she accepts it. With the Beans...well, i do not let her get too close right now, but I feel that she wants to be their protector, their champion. When they cry she looks at us with concern, as if to say we should be doing something very quickly to alleviate their discomfort. She loves to smell their clothes and bits and (turn away if squeamish) we caught her on a poop dipe once. Gross.

Yesterday was her first visit in a very long time to the San Dimas Dog Park.
We were regulars, then fell out of it because of some of the dogs that frequent the park, but we thought it would be a nice treat. Well, we got there and Mama stayed on the perimeter of the Park with the Beans in our beautiful but cumbersome stroller and in went Daddy and Meesh. Not for long, though. She kept coming back to the fence because her family was separated. Luckily, the Park hosts a huge lawn that we all played ball on, the main focus being Mishka as the Beans napped peacefully.

She and I have also returned to our walks in a modified fashion. I cannot quite make the distance due to time and deconditioning, but we will get there. We started out with around the block, then the neighborhood, now we get a fair distance in. We walk at 530-6 a.m. depending on Mama's alertness, it is usually a Bean-less time (Tim sleeps/watches them while we go) and I use it to think of the day ahead and to think of things to write here or once to craft a poem. That felt good.

I love my family, my growing happy family.

To go back a bit...I am okay with the current restrictions on my person because the rewards are great. I know mobility will return and I will have access to a greater scope than I have now. It is interesting, I am willing to sacrifice the freedoms I once had and do it wholly without resentment because it is for them. And we wanted them and were ready for them, so it goes without saying that we must do what is best for them. I guess it is important to go into parenting with this mindset because then it all makes sense. And there is only one time in this that they will be this small, this needful of constant gentle handling and care. Only once will I see my boys learn to focus on my eyes, or discover that the blinds really are the most fascinating aspect of the room. We get out all together and that is enough. I have encouraged Tim to try to get fired from his job so we can collect unemployment and he can stay with us at all times, but he does not seem to think getting rid of his job is a good idea. Especially because he works with his best friend. Humphhh. I wish this country valued the experience of Daddy as much as Mama. He would actually love to stay with us (not always the case with some men) but he cannot. For now, I eagerly await Friday and look forward to our cabin trip. And my walk with Mishka. It is enough.