What a Girl Wants

A little old lady in my complex dotes on my dog. That's fine, I dote on my dog. Everytime we go by to get the mail or just on a walk, she meets us on the way back with a snack for him. Usually, it's just a little lunchmeat or a piece of cheese. Yesterday, it was a little piece of liver. She spoils him.

This morning, taking our morning walk (way too early for my tastes, but you can't mistake a potty dance on your neck at 6:15.), she invited us in for a cup of coffee. No problem, she's lonely, we can spare time for a cup of coffee in our pajamas. Wonderful cup of coffee, too. Not your typical Folger's blend. A little cream (real cream!) and sugar, fabulous.

So, we're sitting there talking, she's feeding bits of cheese to the Wonder Dog, and she proceeds to analyze me. (A note, dear readers, don't do this. Unsolicited analyzations piss me off.) She tells me that she can see in my eyes that I'm feeling an emptiness inside. I was tempted to spout some sarcastic remark (yes, my stomach), but decided against it. Instead, I asked her what she meant. She said it was glaringly apparent I'm feeling a need to be a mother to someone. Since I'm not having a baby anytime soon, I've gotten a dog to curb the urgings to be motherly.

How do you tell someone that this is a load of shit? Sure, someday I want to be a mother, but my "urgings" aren't running rampant. Hell, I've got some goals to meet first (get married one day, have a house and a yard, those kinds of things) and I'm not in a rush to do those things.

No, I got a dog because I wanted a dog. I promised myself when I started my masters degree that I'd get a dog when I was finished. My family has always had dogs, and I've never felt right in a house that didn't have one. So, when I had a chance to get a free puppy, I did.

Yes, I dote on him and spoil him much the way some might a child. He was very sick the first month I had him, and I agonized over him. Everytime we had to rush to the vet, I was frantic and couldn't focus when sent to work. He is my "child" in the sense that he is dependent on me for everything. But he's not a replacement for a baby in my life--unrequited desires or no.

My parents call him the "grandpuppy." They bought the car harness (seatbelt for dogs) that I'd been looking for because they were "very worried about him riding in the car." I got in trouble the other day because I left him at home when I went to visit. Silly me, I thought they wanted to see me. How could I have been so dense? Sounds to me like they've got unanswered urgings for grandchildren.

I hate when people tell me things like that--you've gotten x as a way to deal with your desires for y. Sure, it happens, people get pets when what they really want is a baby. I have to wonder though, when was the last time someone got a baby, when what the really wanted was a dog?
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2 Response to "What a Girl Wants"

  1. Jayne says:
    Mar 26, 2005, 7:30:00 AM

    Family allowance part? We don't get that here. Sure, there's a dependent child deduction on income tax, but no family allowances.

    Besides, in the long run, a dog is generally less costly-unless you want an incredibly expensive one.

  2. Jayne says:
    Mar 26, 2005, 9:12:00 PM

    Well, true. But, I don't want 11 kids either. I'm sorry, others are welcome to it if that's their thing, but I'm not a factory.

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