Must Love Dogs
The other day I came home from work and just felt blah. I put on my sweatpants and snuggled into the sofa, immediately I had three furry bodies surrounding me. One on top of my feet, one curled up in the bend of my belly and one laid across my chest like the best weighted blanket money can buy.
Anxiety and stress had me restless, but as I lay there listening to their gentle breathes, soft snores and sweet sighs the weight that I’d been carrying drifted away as the heat of their bodies melted into mine and I began to relax and drift off to sleep.
This house is emptier now with three kids no longer living here, the lack of activity, dishes and laundry are palpable. The driveway is no longer overflowing with trucks and the sounds of competing playlists don’t pour from the bedrooms. We plan and pray for them to be self-sufficient adults but I don’t think we’re ever truly ready for it.
My dogs have always been pampered and spoiled rotten just like my children, but since the last chick flew the coop they’ve become more important to me. In the mornings they’re my constant companions at my feet and when I come home they greet me at the door with eager faces and wagging tails. When I’m talking through problems they listen with alert ears and cocked heads never once trying to fix it. Who needs to pay for therapy when you have a dog?
My family teases that I love the dogs more than I love them, not true, but dogs don’t ask anything of me. When I cry, their cold noses and wet kisses dry my tears, they listen without judgement and love me even when I’m unlovable. They force me to walk when I don’t want to move and when I’m feeling empty and weary they pour their souls into me.
I think I love dogs so much because they remind me of when I had babies, they would fall asleep on my chest and with their sweet heaviness I would lay there for hours, nothing was more important in that moment. I miss those days and often can be heard saying “If only I could go back and do it again”.
My dogs haven’t replaced my children but they’re definitely filling a very large void as I figure out this new stage of my life, until I have grandbabies anyway.
