Quite a Weekend

So we got the new puppy on Thursday.  We've been looking at dogs for a while--ever since our lives started to slow down for real (in travel time, I mean--nothing else has slowed down at all, I'm afraid!)  We decided to go with a larger breed in hopes that once we make it through the hair-pulling puppy/adolescent phase we'd have a big, lazy dog that would do OK just being taken out to exercise when I'm out and about with the kids.  So far she seems to be a pretty good puppy.  The house training is going really well (she's very, very smart) and she's pretty good about only chewing on her toys.  We even left her with a babysitter already and that went well.  She is beautiful.  Her haunches look just like a St. Bernard, and her face looks about half between a St and a German Shepherd right now, so we'll see how she turns out.  She LOVES Keilana (the feeling is mutual) and so far is very good with the baby.  She seems to understand the difference--meaning that, though she playfully attacks and crawls all over the older kids, she only ever licks or rubs against the baby.

We left Kylie with Mom (Doug's mom) while we drove down to Bakersfield to get the puppy.  I've been so kid-strapped since she came along that there just hasn't been much opportunity to leave her and she's my freaky attached baby.  Anyway, she cried pretty urgently for quite some time after we left, but then she calmed down and actually played happily with Mimi and Papa, talked and gave them some real smiles.  She appears to have inherited my shy gene. :(  By the time we got back she was sound asleep.

Saturday was Doug and I's sixth anniversary, so that afternoon, we left all three kids at Mimi's house (she had volunteered to babysit some time ago, God bless her).  We went out to a late lunch at Red Lobster (which cost us almost nothing, thanks to a gift card), and then did a little shopping with NO CHILDREN.  We wandered Costco for pleasure.  There were a few things we needed and we got them, but mostly we just walked around.  We did the same at PetCo, Tractor Supply and Target.  [Wow, reading that sentence and looking at the list of places we went when we could go anywhere without our kids, I just realized how pathetically dorky we are].  We went out to a movie (something we manage about twice a year on average),  The Proposal, which we both really enjoyed more than we expected I think.  Romantic comedies tend to be either hit or miss on their writing, but this one actually had a fair amount of wit and cleverness, which was a pleasant surprise.  After the movie we picked up Ginger and Kylie (Kylie isn't real great about taking a bottle and has not been sleep-trained yet, so I didn't want to inflict her on Mom all night).

I had to teach Sunday School, but since we only had the baby, Doug and I took off (yes, we skipped third hour, but I don't think it will kill us) and went for a drive.  We drove over Sherman Pass and came down through Johnsondale.  It was about a 7 1/2 hour drive in total (including our few stops).  It was really nice to take a long drive and talk without being interrupted by, "I'm hungry" or "I have to pee!" or "I want to sing Old Mcdonald!" from the backseat every thirty seconds (and Kylie did awesome, being awake and happy or just snoozing pretty much the entire drive).  

Being in the mountains is so relaxing and we were able to talk about a lot of things that have been on both our minds a lot and make sure we were on the same page again.  That was definitely the best part of our weekend.  Yes, we talked the whole time.  There really was no lull in the conversation for 8 hours, we're that chatty.  But between the kids, work, school, church, side jobs, etc., there hasn't been a lot of time for meaningful conversation with each other (which, with our particular personalities, is a huge part of our connection to each other).  There's been so much to deal with the last six months (especially the last two) that we haven't had time to talk about much more than what we had to deal with at the moment.  Not that I ever really forget, but it was nice to be reminded how much I love my husband and why.  I had a few moments the last few months where I felt like someone was trying to say something to find the chinks in our armor, so to speak, and it was actually very reassuring.  I simply couldn't be bothered with it because my trust in him is so complete.  We're completely open and honest with each other and so very comfortable together.  I never cease to be grateful for that.  The specific things we talked about also helped me to realize how far I have come, as an individual, in the last six years.  In many ways, I'm a different person than the person he married (and the same could be said of him).  And I mean that in all the best ways possible.

A couple months ago Doug and I were talking about a mutual acquaintance.  I'd been angry at her and was trying to work through it with him and at one point I stopped and said, "She doesn't have this."   I can't remember a time in my life where I wasn't well-liked by nearly everyone around me.  Paradoxically, I can't remember a time in my life where I have had a lot of friends.  I have had a tendency to feel like an outsider in even places where theoretically I belong and I have a hard time connecting to people.  But I always come back to Doug.  He is my best friend.  At times it feels like he's the only person I am connected to, but he's always there.  Even when I feel like I don't have friends or my family lives on another planet, he's there.  I am grateful for the confidence and trust I have in him and that I can always rely on that.  It makes such a tremendous difference in everything in life to know that there is someone who is always going to be there, that you can trust to forgive your faults while recognizing and appreciating your strengths.  To know there's someone there you can talk to, who understands the way your mind works;  someone who is quick with a joke and who loves you for you, whatever that may mean today.  The world is constantly and increasingly confused about what romance is, what love is, what marriage should be.  By far my greatest blessing in life is sharing my life with someone who understands all those things the same way I do.  Happy anniversary, babe.