Thursday, June 16, 2011

Decisions, decisions

When I was young, I wanted to get my ears pierced. I told my mom, who, surprisingly, told me that I could do it -- but that it would hurt. Even then, as a durable, injury-prone, bounce-back-from-anything gymnast, I wasn't good with pain. I started to reconsider...

Then, my mom and grandma told me to make a pros and cons list to help me decide. I thought of tons of pros (I'd look pretty, I liked jewelry, I'd be grown-up, etc.) and only one con: needle through ear hurts. A lot.

If pro-and-con lists were about length alone, the decision would have been easy. With far more pros than cons, I'd have done it instantly. But that one, singular, painful con carried much more weight for me. It took me ages to actually pull the trigger, no pun intended. But I finally did it. And now? I hardly wear earrings.

I thought about that little story in bed the other night when I was wondering whether or not we should keep this new dog in our house. There are plenty of pros and cons floating around, but once again this isn't a decision than can be boiled down to a few words on a piece of Lisa Frank paper.






This dog is sweet, smart and loving. She and Rocco get along so well. She likes to cuddle and sleep. She doesn't have a sensitive stomach. She's a pleaser.

But...

My house is more crowded. My floors have been peed on once a day. The dogs set each other off when one hears a noise. The playing is overkill.

We're all still adjusting, I know. Things have gotten better each day. If we didn't already have Rocco, this would be a no-brainer because this dog is just so awesome. But is it the right long-term living situation for the four of us?

As they say, time will tell.

7 comments:

Rebekah said...

If my dog only peed on the floor once a day, I'd count myself lucky. She's 3 years old and SHOULD be pretty well-adjusted by now, but noooo.

Floor steamers are a great investment.

Best of luck with your pups! :o)

Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks said...

Awww, this post kind of breaks my heart. Because I know you're such a huge dog lover, so this decision must be weighing heavily on you. I say two dogs and crowding and rearranging home priorities is getting you ready for kids (trust me) ... but, then again, maybe you're not planning on having kids and maybe it's not that simple. Easy for me to say sitting over here. So, I'll just wish for you to come to peace with a decision, because limbo sucks donkeyballs.

Lisa said...

Rebekah: Ha! I'm so spoiled with Rocco, I'm all, YOU DARE PEE IN MY HOME, NEW DOG?? Also, we have hardwood floors which sucks in the winter but is great for pissing animals.

Nilsa: Dave and I are both warming up to the idea of kids, but it took us 3 years to even make that statement. Soo, our timeline is slow, but if we can handle this, we're probably one tiny, baby-step closer. :-)

Jessica (Bayjb) said...

Aww this is so bittersweet. I remember you saying how in love with her you were even with just visiting on Suz's party day. This won't be easy but trust that you'll make the right decision for your house.

terra said...

That's such a hard decision to make. When we brought our second dog into the house, it seemed like a great idea, but it look forever to get adjusted. We've had him over a year now and sometimes I still miss being a single pet family, but I love him so much that I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Kelly said...

Ugh that is such a hard decision to make! We had the same type of thing only with another cat. Even though I loved her dearly I hated the extra work she required and our home just didn't function as well. After years(!) of deliberation my cousin finally decided to take her and things have been wonderful for all parties ever since. She LOVES her new home and mine seems much more balanced now. So my advice - make sure you are 100% before keeping her. And realize even if you can't give her a good home there is probably someone else out there who will. Hope that helps. Good luck:)

Unknown said...

Oh jeez this is a heartbreakers. I know how excited you were beforehand and the dogs look so happy together. But it's still a lot of dog for a place in the city. I'm sure the dog is so grateful to be part of your family but it does take a whe for them to adjust. We got Z as a puppy and she had at leadt one accident a day for more than a year (Frenchies are notoriously hard to train) but now we hardly even remember that stage and she's so, so worth it. But again she's only one dog so Im not in your shoes. Good luck with everything. I know it will work out somehow.

Related Posts with Thumbnails