Oh, What Fun!

It’s the time of year when songs, movies, sales ads, and deals inundate us with hope of magic and miracles. We’re to believe that a prince on a horse will make everything perfect or a mythical being disguised as one of us will ring a bell and all our dreams come true. 

However, this season also adds a lot of tasks to our to-do lists, unrealistic expectations of ourselves, and maybe even melancholy as we’re reminded it’s the first holiday without someone(s) we love.

Mabel’s been transitioning slowly to a new daycare. It’s the right long-term fit: less party, party, party, more confidence building, downtime, and positive training. I’m grateful for the timing, too, and for Sasha’s quiet, clean, lovely home and care. I hope all your dogs are safe and healthy with this spreading scary illness.

As Mabel and I continue figuring out what works for us, I’ve been focusing on having fun with it all. In an attempt to prevent what I call Croco-Mabel mode every evening, a 30-second to three-minute nip-zoom-then crash session, we’ve been running up and down the carpeted steps together with her toy. Well, Mabel moves quickly. I’m limping since Tor-Mabel crashed into me coming when I called too excitedly. After my sweet girl also knocked over my ex-sister-in-law, no one now stands in a pile of leaves while Mabel runs around.  

Even obedience, which I’ve never loved, has been fun. Watching my sweet girl settle on her place while I do dishes in the other room and periodically reward her is so rewarding. Mabel seems to relish working and learning. And, despite her home-alone setback, I’m taking it much more lightly than I would have even six months ago. Rather than worrying that I’ll never get Mabel back to a place where she’s napping and snoring for almost four hours after she hopped the gate the day I was moving erratically because my Pit-Bull-Dozer barreled into me, I’m focusing on rebuilding the foundation, making Mabel’s room her happiest, calmest place ever. 

Speaking of happy places, I’ve only mentioned a little about the shop lately. To say things are running smoothly is an understatement. To say my team is fantastic isn’t enough. To say that I’m grateful for Jordan, Pandora, and Cammie a bazillion times a day is too little. It took ten-plus years to get here, but I don’t take one second for granted. I’m still in awe of Cammie, who packed 1000 pouches from our holiday sales between Friday and Monday. I am thankful to my whole team for making enough pouches that we had the stock to offer discounts. 

So, today, I offer this thought as we enter the holiday season: even if you’re hesitantly hosting a celebration or still working on your joy and jolliness, like me, I also hope you find ways to have fun. Even the most daunting to-do list is more manageable after a little play break with our dog(s).