Yes, my puppies are crazy and tear things up sometimes. But I don’t want you guys to get the wrong idea. I love my puppies, truly. They are adorable and sweet and affectionate. They love it when I sit outside with them, like when I’m done with my workout and I go outside to cool down. Jack comes to visit frequently. Grace, well, Grace just loves to be outside.And while I’m on the subject: working out is not my favorite thing. Lena Dunham recently made the point that she’s exercising for the mind, not the body, and that is so very true for me. Anyone who struggles with depression or anxiety or stress (so basically, everyone, right?) knows intellectually that exercise will help. Doesn’t make it easier to do. But still. I’m trying again to make it a habit and I’m not completely hating it. Fingers crossed it sticks.

And speaking of sticks (haha!), I love that my puppies can share sticks sometimes. They love love love to chew on wood, so rather than my house or my chairs, I give them sticks in the backyard. The best ones are the really long ones. They each get an end…until one steals it from the other and it turns into a game.  Let me brag on them: behind our house is a yard with two dogs, one big and one smaller (maybe some kind of collie?). These dogs are Crazy. Whenever they’re outside, it seems like they spend all their time barking at my dogs, digging at the base of the fence, clawing at the fence, and just generally going nuts. You know what my pups do? They run up, stick their noses up to the fence, sniff a bit, and run away to resume their games. Do they bark at these crazy dogs? Not anymore. Jack did at first, but we trained him to stop. Grace doesn’t bark too much anyway. They don’t dig to get at them or anything. They’re just like, “Oh, hey, it’s those guys again. Hi, guys. HEY! LET’S RUN AROUND SOME MORE!!”

So there you go. I love that Jack is so eager to please that he’s a trainer’s dream. I love that he and Grace have such a good time together. I love that Grace will let my son squeeze and hug and generally maul her without batting an eye. Sure, I wish she didn’t feel the need to chew on everything, but I know that’ll get better eventually. I get a lot of pleasure from watching them interact with each other and with the kids, and of course I love the puppy snuggles.