the dog days are near

for those of you who know me IRL (in real life.  i just invented that.), it's not a surprise to you that i very much want a dog.  


i love dogs.  i love my friends' dogs. i love TV dogs.  i love strangers-on-the-sidewalks' dogs.  i love dogs. 


when i was 7, i opened the best birthday gift of my life: a dog. a beautiful black lab named Bawl-Baby (my choice btw.  don't ever let a child name a pet.  srsly.).  the name was given because in the beginning she cried constantly.  no matter, i instantly loved that dog.  i slept with her and held her like she were my favorite "April" Ninja Turtle figure.  i remember her puppy toys.  i remember excitedly coming home to her every day after school.  


after 6 months, my mom decided that it would be better for BB to live with my aunt and uncle on a farm, rather than waiting on me to get off the school bus every day.  i.  was.  devastated.  i may or may not have written to Oprah, who was very picky about material at that point. it was my first heart-ache.


fast-forward 12 years: i love my cat.  above all other currently living mammals, i love my dear Atticus.  BUT that doesn't change my desire to have a healthy, long-term relationship with a canine.  a canine who sleeps on my legs and gets beyond excited when i arrive home for work.    


recently, with all of life's changes, i've been thinking often about adulthood.  for me, "adulthood" entails a mortgage, a partner, and a dog.  i'm not sure why Atti isn't quite sufficient for my adulthood equation, but it is what i imagine it is.  and my imagination has a dog in mind.  that seems redundant.   


not today.  not tomorrow.  soon.  time passes quickly these days.