“This is what you are so good at,” Papa Bear said as he leaned in to kiss me before leaving for the office this morning. He was referring to the caregiving and attention I would be piling upon our convalescing pups. Both Koda and Summer needed their Mama today because yesterday they endured some pretty invasive procedures. I read it described on one website as, “No longer being intact.” Well, one look at Koda and that is evident; his pair of grapes are gone. This may surprise some you if you thought it was going to be more like a vasectomy where after a little snip snip he’d be home with a bag of frozen peas watching football on the sofa for a few days. We learned about what neutering involved only a week ago. Imagine Koda’s surprise.

While Koda’s procedure may seem major, what took place with Summer was an even a bigger deal. She has a long vertical line of stitches along her stomach where her abdominal wall was opened and her insides were handled and ovaries and uterus removed. Her period of recovery is supposed to last longer. It is also imperative that she stay calm and rest, so as not to rupture the sutures. She’ll be a good patient but her brother may make the calm part of her recovery a tough one.

When we picked them up from the vet yesterday they were both a little loopy, Summer more than Koda. It was similar to bringing home my teenagers from their wisdom teeth removals. If the dogs could have talked I would have interrogated them like I did my teens. I call it the “truth serum.” We brought the dazed dogs into the house and they were mellow and sleepy most of the evening. The challenge during their wakeful moments was not letting them lick their wounds. We tried some tricks to help like putting Koda in a pair of boxers and Summer in a t-shirt. It worked only until the garment was shed. Papa Bear kept the night watch and took them outside several times.

This morning the pups were looking much more like themselves. However, Summer was still very lethargic. I gave them both pain meds and began my watch. I quickly realized the boxer/shirt idea was a flop, I needed to go further. I left my daughter to watch them while I ran to the pet store to buy the inflatable neck rings that I found online. I also picked up more chew toys for less physical activity. Somehow a couple Christmas canine costumes also made their way into my cart.

Good news, the donuts work! No need for the cone of shame when you have the fashionable inflatable infinity scarf. The new chew toys with the tiny treat compartments are also hits. So it has been a pretty chill day, just naps and gnawing next to the fire. The tricky part is when they need to go outside. Koda wants to run and play. They are not used to me putting them on leash to go into the backyard, but if I don’t then they will run and chase each other at full speed. Something tells me that I am not going to be able to keep these dogs calm for another ten days.

For now, I am relieved that the surgeries went well, that we are past the first night, and that no little five-legged ausssiedoodle puppies will be conceived in this house.

The surgery day went well. They are both asleep. Update coming tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the big day. Koda and Summer go to the vet in the morning for their spaying and neutering. As any mother would be, I am a little bit nervous. It’s been on the calendar for awhile and I know it is necessary. It is a very common procedure. That does not change the fact that it is surgery. Both dogs will be going under general anesthesia, then having their fertility parts altered and/or removed.

Please send a little prayer or good energy our way for smooth sailing at the vet and then speedy healing. I do not want my babies to endure any pain, and I’ll be doing everything I can to make them comfortable when I bring them home tomorrow evening.

I will spare my readers any “tmi” details and instead update you on their well-being. For now, it’s sweet dreams to my fertile fluffy furry Aussiedoodle pups! Summer and Koda asleep under the table during dinner (notice the missing area rug they destroyed)

My laptop sits in front of me and I could be getting a jump-start on my holiday shopping with big online sales. Instead, I would rather write for my blog, and not break tradition. The gift buying does not begin for me until the start of December. So I have a week before the frantic frenzy of finding the perfect presents for my people. It may seem like I am procrastinating and could benefit from planned shopping and sale searching, but this is just how I do it. If ever I do find something special for someone far in advance I usually forget about it in the back of my closet, or my impatience gets the best of me and I give it to them early.

As long as I can remember the Christmas season has been this way for me, and for my family. We do not put up our tree or decorations over the Thanksgiving holiday as some people do. It’s usually the second week of December before we get our fresh cut live tree from the Boy Scout lot. I remember games of hide and seek in the tree lot with my sisters, as my parents took the time to find just the right tree. Years later, it was my turn to stand and discuss tree height and fullness with my husband as our children ran around the temporary forest in the lot.

The same weekend that the tree came home was also when we brought down all of our boxes from the attic. My decorations have accumulated over the years: the snowman collection, the snow globes, the Christmas picture books, the nutcracker grouping, and the tiny crystal angels. I love unwrapping each familiar item. My parents had several Christmas decorations that remain clear in my mind, even though it’s been years since I’ve seen them on display. The first was a trio of three angels made from brown or gold painted styrofoam balls and cones covered in burlap in large, medium and small sizes. I would play with the three angels because they were not fragile. Then there was the delicate carousel of brass angels that turned round and round when the little candles were lit. I found it to be magical that the flames would somehow move the angels in flight. Each December I looked forward to these special family decorations making their way to our living room. I know my children feel the same about our snowmen and nutcrackers.

My aunt always sent us an Advent calendar in the mail. Each sister took a turn opening a numbered door, which revealed a picture of an animal from the manger or some toy. As I started celebrating the season of Advent with children of my own, an Advent calendar was delivered to us at the end of November from that same aunt. Some years the calendar was more elaborate with little chocolates or even legos behind each door. The main idea was recognizing the season and counting down the days until Christmas. For families with multiple children it was also a good opportunity for learning to “wait your turn.”

I have five more days before the first day of December. Five more days until the list-making, gift purchasing, card writing, Advent calendar door opening begins. My car radio will not be tuned into the Christmas music quite yet. There is no wreath hanging on my door until this weekend. I’m still smiling in gratitude for the wonderful Thanksgiving I spent with my family. We feasted, played games, had a drum circle and laughed a lot. Then over the weekend we cheered on our son’s football team; good news is that they won and that we will be at a bowl game sometime over the Christmas holiday. The time, day and location to be determined. Exciting times!

This is our first Christmas with the puppies. It brings ups all kinds of questions that haven’t crossed my mind in years: can we have poinsettias in the house? I don’t think so, I have read that they are mildly toxic to dogs. What will our dogs do with a tree in close proximity? Summer chews on all sticks and even grabs logs from next to the hearth, will she try to eat the tree branches? How about low-hanging ornaments? What is Santa going to bring the puppies and will they greet Santa Claus in a friendly way when he comes down our chimney and into the house? I will figure those important details out in the next five days. For now, a special dog treat Advent Calendar has been ordered and will hopefully arrive by Saturday (when the Christmas season officially begins in our house).

This coffee mug is special to me because it was a Mother’s Day gift. It was designed by my sweet son in 2006. The song “Fergilicious” by Fergie was popular that year. I pulled this mug out of the cupboard to have a quick cup of coffee before we hit the road. Papa Bear and I are en route to watch our big tough college tight end son play football against the Duke Blue Devils. I love knowing that the hard hitting Demon Deacon is the same little boy that colored these flowers and called me “Mamalicious.”

Video footage captured by Papa Bear early yesterday morning.

My house filled up with our complete family
Opening up a door to a fully stocked refrigerator or pantry
Cocktails with old friends in a poolside cabana all afternoon
Serving an ace when I am tired and need to close out a game that keeps going to back to deuce
Toilet paper left on the roll
My mother’s hands in mine
A touchdown scored to win the game by our son
Mother’s day cards made by my kids
Bare feet in the cool sand and warm sun on my skin
Wide open mouth puppy yawn with a little high pitched peep
Guacamole and chips
Crawling into crisp clean sheets
The first sip of hot coffee in my ceramic Mama Bear mug
Hearing the eight note melody that plays when I have solved a crossword puzzle on my iPad
Children, freshly bathed, in clean pajamas, listening to a bedtime story
Snow falling and cancelling all activities
Those ten minutes after hitting the snooze button buried deep beneath the warm down comforter
A fluffy puppy snoozing at my side and the other one on my foot
Laughing out loud at episodes of The Office
Chocolate anything
The final 2 minutes of an exercise class
Fire in an outdoor firepit or even better in a large stone fireplace
Brussel sprouts roasted
A full tank of gas
Getting to the bottom of the dirty laundry basket before anything else gets added
Kind strangers
Fast fast food
Patient thorough doctors
Comments on my blog to indicate someone out there is actually reading it
Crispy margherita pizza
Getting to the third chapter of a book when it really starts to pull me in
The smell of a torn fresh mint leaf, and then the taste of a mojito
Realizing my clocks never were changed and I have an extra hour
Playing scattagories or balderdash with my family and laughing so hard it hurts
Thanksgiving meal
Live music coming from one of the random instruments my son picks up
Someone else doing the dishes
Getting an unsolicited hug from my teenage son
Any Pie with whipped cream
Puppies running in circles on the grass, and burning energy

Sitting with a mimosa near my husband while he stuffs a turkey
Brown, orange and yellow leaves in the trees
Listening to my daughter and son talk while drawing and coloring in the other room
The freedom to write what I please and post it out there on the internet
Chex mix
Peace

 

I started my gratitude list with my husband and my six children (four humans and two aussiedoodles). Today I continue with feeling blessed with all of the people in my life: family, “framily” and friends. All the way across the country from me are family that are close to my heart. The distance between us does not stop them from being present in my mind or my daily life. Throughout my day I am reminded of them, whether it’s walking by a picture frame and seeing their smiling faces, or using some phrase that I heard often growing up, “Oh, sweet lamb.”

My mother and father are healthy active 78 year olds living in Northern California. They each have their own interests (music, art, yoga, community service) that keep them busy. My dad is an avid crossword puzzle who can pretty easily solve any day of the week (I’m still only up to Mondays and Tuesdays). He is a movie buff and reads book after book. My mother inspires me with how balanced she is physically. Through years of yoga, she continues to be strong, flexible and has great posture. She is gifted with beautiful artistic talent, and brings a little sketch pad and water color set with her on trips. She will sit and draw birds or grandchildren and capture the beauty of the scene before her. My parents provided me and my sisters with a very loving and comfortable childhood. Even though we are all spread out in different cities, and our parents live in a different home than we grew up in, they continue to be the beacon that draws us in and connects us to one another. I am so grateful to have these amazing parents in my life.

“Four girls, no brothers,” I would answer with a smile. I like telling people this unusual fact, and sometimes encountering another woman with three sisters. We get it. My sisters are on my list of gratitude not because it’s always been a walk in the park, but because I love these women despite our occasional disagreements. In fact, that’s what makes us so close, we are not afraid to speak honestly to one another. A sister is not reluctant to tell it like it is. “I would not wear that. You should not put up with that. You really need to fix that.” If I need heartfelt confidential advice on a moments notice, I know that I can call any one of my three sisters. Together we laugh, argue, cry, analyze and laugh some more. One is in Hawaii, one in San Diego, one in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I’m in Virginia; sadly, we are too far away to have lunch or see each other often. It is what it is, so I will simply feel blessed to have these three sisters in my life.

Some other special people I’m grateful for are all my relatives. Nieces, nephews, cousins, uncles, aunts, brothers-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my mother-in-law. My heart is filled with so much joy when we can get together for visits or holidays. Family is about letting the formalities go, and relaxing together comfortably. Growing up I loved Thanksgiving and Christmas afternoons. Tables set with homemade place cards, holding hands during Grace, lots and lots of food, then skits, games and music in the living room. I miss those big get-togethers. These days we meet up for visits or special occasions (anniversaries or graduations). I am grateful for all of these special people linked to me.

“Framily” is that term used to describe the friends that have known you for so long and know you so well that they are like family. We have a few of those and love them dearly. We have traveled together, spent weeks in rental homes making memories with our families. We have supported one another through hardships and celebrated each other’s happiest milestones. The miles between us and the time between our get-togethers cannot undo our strong ties. We are extremely blessed to have our framily.

The people I have listed up to this point do not live close to us. Having “people” in my life is important. My friends here in Virginia are dear to me. They are the women that have gotten to know me as who I am today. They listen to what is on my heart. They laugh at my stories. I listen to them (and find their Virginian accents endearing). “Girlie…” is my favorite way they start a text. I think what is nice about these women is that we are in similar seasons of life. Our children are in high school or older. We have more “tiiiiiiime” (said in a Virginian accent) on our hands to relax and reflect. My criteria for a good time has always been if I laugh with someone. I used to ask this of my daughter when she returned from spending an evening with friends, “Did you laugh a lot?” Well these women that I play tennis with, that I meet up with weekly in a faith group, that I go out for a glass of “wiiiiiine” with…we laugh a lot! It has only been ten years that I have lived here, but in that short time I met some pretty special people for whom I am grateful.

This Thanksgiving series is almost wrapped up. My husband, my kids, my aussiedoodles, my extended family, my framily, and my friends. What else could I be thankful for? You’ll just have to read tomorrow to find out.

*By the way, as I have written my blog post, this happened… see the photo below.
Sorry Papa Bear.

I will get right to the point. Summer and Koda, six months ago you came into my life. I am so grateful for the joy the two of you Aussiedoodles have brought to our whole family. Raising puppies can be hard at times, especially with two at one time, but it is worth it with you both. I created this blog to chronicle our days together. Somehow the writing about mothering puppies has transported me back to the days when our children were younger. This reflection makes me smile, your looks on your fluffy faces make me smile, and your energetic affection makes me smile. Thank you Summer and Koda for the snuggles, the puppy love, and all the smiles you bring us.