THANKFUL FRIDAY

Blanket and snuggle weather

8 Likes, 2 Comments - Cindy Maddera (@elephant_soap) on Instagram: "Blanket and snuggle weather"

Every morning this week, my alarm has gone off at 4:50 AM and I have crawled out from under my heated blankets. I have pulled on my thermal leggings and long-sleeved T. I have unrolled my yoga mat and I have spent an hour in practice. I do not adjust the thermostat and the house is chilly, but I move my body through rounds of sun salutations to warm myself up. Often, Josephine comes back in from doing her thing outside and climbs back under the covers of my bed. She has a new haircut and she probably needs a sweater. She rolls herself up in my comforter like a burrito. It is only near the end of my practice, when I am settling down into a ten minute meditation, when I hear her jump from the bed and run into the living room to find me. Then she climbs into my lap and curls up like a ball. Instead of counting through a mantra, I scratch the dog.

I call it puppy meditation and I think I’m on to something. Like, move over goat yoga. Puppy meditation is taking a seat.

There have been plenty of scientific studies describing the health benefits of caring for and owning a pet. One study gave a group of people a rabbit or a turtle or a stuffed toy that matched one of those two things and then measured anxiety levels. Anxiety levels were lower for people who were petting the live animal. Even if it was a turtle. A review paper submitted to BMC Psychiatry found the current pile of scientific papers out there regarding pet ownership and mental health to be accurate in showing that:

‘pets provide benefits to those with mental health conditions through the intensity of connectivity with their owners and the contribution they make to emotional support in times of crises together with their ability to help manage symptoms when they arise.’

Even if it is a turtle.

There are lots of meditation techniques. Walking. Candle gazing. Chanting. Mindfully petting a dog fits right in. It’s a really nice way to start out the day. Every one is happier. Me. Josephine. Albus not so much. He curls up on the bathroom floor and gives us the side eye. But I bet if you had a nicer cat, you could have kitty meditation. Even turtle meditation.

I am thankful for puppy meditation. I am thankful for my puppy.

P.S. I bought Josephine an advent calendar. Michael incredulously said “You bought the dog an advent calendar?!” Then I told him why I bought the dog an advent calendar. Every time I get us one, the candy is terrible and there’s lots of complaining about who has to open it and eat it. Josephine’s little nubby tail is going to wag so hard that it’s going to make her whole body wiggle with excitement every time we open a day on the advent. We could be opening garbage and she would do all of her tricks. If anybody is going to gain joy out of a daily advent calendar, it’s going to be Josephine.

LOVE THURSDAY

Her favorite spot

"Her favorite spot"

The other day, I was scrolling though my Instagram feed looking for a particular picture for another entry when I scrolled past some pictures of Josephine when we first got her. Holy cow, I can't believe how tiny she was! I also can't believe how little I've talked about her here. I've gushed a lot about the chickens, but poor Josephine has only been a side note. She's definitely not a side note in our daily lives. I don't know why I haven't taken time out to go on and on about her here. Maybe because she's family? I don't talk about my loved ones too much here. I tend to limit those stories out of respect for their privacy. It could be that Josephine has been subconsciously put into the same category. 

Josephine is now six months old and with the exception of a few I'm-so-happy-to-see-you-I'm-going-to-pee moments, she is completely potty trained. Last night we started being more vigilant in training her to meet house guests. I've been a little lax about the whole obedience training thing mostly because it's been too difficult to shift her focus from OH MY GOD LET'S PLAY to I AM TOTALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU AND THAT TREAT. She knows sit and down really well. She comes when we call her most of the time. Sometimes barking at the neighbor dogs distracts her. She likes to get in the last word. She wants to be petted while she bites on you, but she's learned to do the whole soft bite thing and she's lost most of those needle sharp baby teeth. I've taken to giving her the cardboard toilet paper insert to chew on and I finally gave in and let her have the forest ranger doll we brought back for The Cabbage from our Dakotas trip. Of all the stuffed animal/dolls in the basket, the girl forester ranger doll was the one that Josephine kept stealing. She showed a thousand times more interest in that doll than the Cabbage ever did, so I finally said "fine. she's your's." The next week the Cabbage said "What happened to my forest ranger doll?" Any way. Josephine loves that doll and carries her every where. 

Josephine is the kind of dog that seems to always be on a mission. She runs with purpose to one room and may come trotting out with one of her toys or some bit of paper in her mouth. The other day she had a pecan, shell in all, in her mouth. I don't even know. She has a pigs ear she's been chewing on for weeks. Sometimes she thinks that I need to chew on it too because she'll place it on my lap while I'm sitting on the couch and then nudge it with her nose as if to say "go ahead...it's really good." She will be gone doing whatever outside on her own for twenty minutes or more and then come running inside like a bullet and then jump all over you like she wants to tell about this totally amazing thing that just happened outside. I'm sure whatever she has to say has something to do with the chickens. She wants so badly to get inside the coop with them and the only one that seems interested in this idea is Matilda. Matilda will walk up to the screen so that she can be beak to nose with Josephine. 

Josephine has a way of holding her mouth that reminds me of Pepaw. I know this sounds really strange, but Pepaw had a certain set of his jaw. I don't know if it was because of his dentures or what. Sometimes I see my mom holding that same jaw set. I definitely see it in my Aunt Martha. Josephine does it too. In fact, one day she was sitting there just looking at me with her mouth set like Pepaw's. I cocked my head to one side and tentatively asked "Pepaw?" She didn't respond to that name, but I do wonder sometimes if Pepaw has been reincarnated as a miniature Schnauzer named Josephine. 

The best thing about Josephine is that it appears she has grown to love us as much as we love her. I can tell by the way she wags her little nub of a tail and the way she sighs with contentment when she rests her head on my feet. 

Mess face. #365

"Mess face. #365"

Happy Love Thursday.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

Today's puppy pic

"Today's puppy pic"

Our dog is a genius. Well...maybe genius isn't the right word. More like OCD. I started out with doing a terrible job at crate training during the night. The idea was that she'd go to bed when I go to bed. The first night, she sort of zonked out in my lap and so I was able to easily scoop her up and into the crate. She fell right back to sleep. No problem. Then she woke up around midnight whimpering. I took her out to go potty and when we came back in, I put her back in her crate. Where she cried. And cried. And cried. I know the rules of this game is to let her cry it out, but this was her first night without any litter mates or other dogs. She was alone in her crate and I just kept thinking about that scene in Big where Tom Hanks has to sleep in that scary motel all by himself. I broke. Josephine ended up in my bed that night and the next night. 

So there were two nights where I woke up with a dog sleeping across my neck or I was being chewed on. The third night of this routine was the same night that a cough had decided to add itself to this lingering flu funk. I got up and took her out around midnight and then brought her back to bed with me. Except Josephine was all "PLAY TIME!" and with me cough cough coughing, I said "No thank you." I put her back in her crate. She whined for a minute and then I didn't hear a peep out of her. Wednesday night, Josephine was running around the house while Michael and I got things like our lunches together for the next day. I went into the bedroom to find her and tell her that it was time for bed, but I didn't see her. Then I looked and she was already in her crate laying on her bed. She put herself to bed. That's not even the best part. She stayed in bed all night. No midnight potty run or nothing. 

We're still working on the whole potty training thing. The few times she's had an accident in the house have been times that we were not really paying attention. The other morning I was washing dishes when I heard her whining. I ignored it because she'd just been outside and had done all of the things not twenty minutes earlier. When I finally went to check on her, she'd pooped on the floor. My bad. I did not scold her, but I scolded myself for not listening. I am thankful that she is picking up the routine so quickly. I think she may be a smart little cookie. A smart bitey little cookie. I am thankful that she hasn't introduced as much chaos as I had thought a new puppy would. I am thankful for her warm soft cuddles and her puppy breath and I'm thankful for the playfulness she's brought to this house. She will attack a leaf like nobodies business.

I am thankful for the day this week that was 70 degrees even though I was still to yucky to ride my scooter. I am thankful that I am (slowly) recovering. I am thankful for chili cheese perogies. I am thankful for that night this week when I realized I needed cough drops and Michael had already put his pj pants on, but he volunteered to go get me some any way. And of course, as always, I am truly thankful for all of you. Here's to a super (bowl) weekend and a fantastic Thankful Friday!