Friday, February 25, 2011

Dog and Kids

I got to thinking about a conversation I  had with a friend regarding dogs and children.  My friend was wondering whether she should take the plunge and get a dog (she is single), or if she should wait until she's "ready."  She and I have had many conversations about her life and where she's at right now, and she came to the conclusion that a dog was the next step. Of course, she has plans for the next two weeks and says she will not be able to adopt a dog until then.  Then, the unexpected happened.  She fell in love with a dog she found online.  This was totally out of left field, and she found herself imagining life with that sweet, fluffy, canine.  BUT, she remembered she had plans and it wouldn't work out right now (hoping that the puppy would still be there in two weeks).  Unfortunately, to her regret, the puppy had been adopted!
Listening to her story made me think about children.  Often times couples will adopt a dog usually as a trial period to see what kind of parents they will be.  Not saying they don't love the dog; rather this is a way to care for another living being.  I admit, my husband and I adopted a dog one month after we were married!  Enter the question of children: Should we have kids now?  Are we ready for kids?  Will we ever be ready?  Or should we just go for it?  If a lot of us who are married kept saying, "I'm not ready yet.  I still have a lot more to do," I feel like we would never have kids!
My advice to my friend regarding her dog was to "just go for it if you really love a dog you see."  Do I take my own advice?
What would your advice be to your friends if they asked whether or not they should have kids?

3 comments:

  1. Love it!!! Yes have you some kids!!!

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  2. Hi BFF- ok so here is the deal. You want the truth I will give it to you. I have learned I'm not a baby person, I adore this age right now (20 months) its a blast, but it comes with tantrums and other stuff that makes me think that having a newborn wasnt that hard. However its the hardest job you will ever have. Its SO MUCH work. It was really tough for me in the start I cried all the time, I just wanted "me" time again, well I have it now that he is older. So I think it takes a good year to get to feeling back to yourself, but with that your life changes. One of you always has to be home at night and date nights are hard to come by unless you have family near you. Even that we dont get them that often. We are grateful when we do, just dont happen that much. We havent taken a vacation *just us two* since before he was born. So sounds like Im bitching, Im not, Im just not sugar coating that its a TON of work!
    All that being said I love Jack so much and he makes me laugh everyday, you know how when your dog does something you prob say omg Ben look at Sunny, well you do that with your kid and its so funny!
    I will say my dogs have taken a back seat, but they are now having more fun b/c Jack LOVES them so they get a ton of attention from him.
    I love exploring on the weekends with Jack, Im always on the go. When the weather is nice we just leave the doors open and let him play outside all day (when he is not in school).

    The other thing is after a while you can do Mothers Day Out, which if you plan to be a SAM then it will give you a few hours a week to have to yourself again. If you are a working mom, then you just make sure you find a good program to put your baby in. If you read most of my blog posts you will see we found a great one, I have no worries when I leave Jack (3 X week) we also have a nanny and have had one since 4 weeks of age, I couldnt have done it without a Nanny, but others do it just fine without one.

    Any who all this to say what everyone says ...its work but its the best work you will ever have. Kids are AMAZING!
    Start trying it may take a while or who knows maybe it wont, but you still have 9 months to cook it :) So there is my 2 cents! xoxo

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  3. WOW. we have a lot in common, starting with http://love-food-sex.blogspot.com/

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