Photo by Angie Davis.
Lauren Denton
Just a few days ago, Kate looked at me and said, “I just had a great daydream.” “What was it about?” I casually asked. A wistful smile crossed her face. “I had a dog. I was so happy.” Sometime around Christmas the girls came downstairs holding picket signs made from pencils and a picture taped to the top. Sela’s “sign” showed a hedgehog, while Kate’s “sign” showed a pug. “We want a pet, we want a pet,” they chanted as they marched around our den holding their picket signs. Sela, our collector of bugs, stones and all the small things, came inside recently with a small smooth rock. She painted a face on it, made a bed for it out of a sock and called it her pet.
We get it, girls. Loud and clear.
I like animals a lot. I really do. I grew up with a plethora of dogs and cats (and hamsters, birds and even a rogue hermit crab or two, thanks to Souvenir City in Gulf Shores) and I’m not opposed to having a pet in the general sense. But here’s the thing—I really like my non-pet life. I like not worrying about whether a stray shoe, sock, book or toy will be chewed up beyond recognition. I like being able to pack our bags and head out of town without having to find a place to board a pet or figuring out how to take it with us. I like that our potty training days are behind us. And I like not stepping in poo in my own backyard.
But I also really like my kids. And I’ve been at this parenting thing long enough to know that sometimes, we parents have to lay down our desires and even our needs for the sake of these small people in our world. Because, you see, I feel a pretty deep-down need for a sense of order and control in my life. I tend to get a little twitchy when things feel messy or hectic or off-schedule. I’ve learned to handle those tendencies when it comes to my children and all the inevitable chaos that comes with kids, but the thought of having to deal with it all over again for the sake of a little bundle of fur that’s going to poop and cry in the middle of the night and force me outside at the crack of dawn for a potty break?
Don’t mind me—I’m just sitting over here twitching.
If you have a pet—especially a medium-sized, non-shedding dog that’s good with kids—chances are I’ve asked you some questions. I’m in the research-gathering phase, because that’s what I do—I analyze, research, ask and ask again. I’m not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal, which is why my kids will never be surprised after school one day because I just happened to go out and buy a dog. Thankfully, my husband knows this about me, which means he won’t surprise us one day with a dog in his passenger seat. Instead, we’ll keep researching, keep looking, keep trying to find that dog (because let’s be serious, I’m the only real cat person in our house) that will fit our family just right. And I’ll prepare myself for the early-morning walks, the backyard poop checks, and the “I’m sorry your shoe has a hole in it, maybe that’ll teach you to put it away in your closet” conversations we will inevitably have.
I don’t know when exactly it’ll happen, but I have a feeling our non-pet days are dwindling. Not because I’m 100% ready to allow this unknown element into my some - what orderly world, but because I truly enjoy making my kids really happy. I know, I know, it’s not our job to make them happy, but in this case, I think the benefits will outlast the drawbacks, and I probably need to quit my twitching and griping about my non-chewed shoes and just get the dog. And we will. Probably.
When I’m not writing about my family and our various shenanigans, I write novels and go to the grocery store. My next novel, THE SUMMER HOUSE, releases in June 2020. You can reach me by email at Lauren@LaurenKDenton.com, visit my website LaurenKDenton.com, or find me on Instagram @LaurenKDentonBooks, Twitter @LaurenKDenton or on Facebook ~LaurenKDentonAuthor
