And it Begins

And it Begins (orig. published 3.30.11)

"Mommy, can I have a puppy?" came the quiet request from the backseat.

Huh.

"What Babycakes?" I say, wanting to make sure I heard my boy correctly.

"Can I have a puppy?" Colson politely asks again.

And it begins.

Perhaps my parent's will tell you a different story, but I swear I was at least SEVEN before I asked for a puppy. At least, it felt like I had waited that long. Three or Seven, it was either way, literally, a lifetime of waiting. Which was plenty long enough.

"CAN-I-HAVE-A-PUPPY" came a robot voice from the backseat.

Cayleigh giggled. As if she was in on the secret puppy plan. So THIS is the plan they had been formulating all those times they hid in the "secret hideout" (aka - Cayleigh's princess tent).

"Why do you want a puppy Babycakes?" I asked.

"Because my other puppy got traded to somebody else so we need a new puppy now Mommy."

I guess my three year old does remember things that happened a long time ago.

We did have a dog. His name was Bud. He was the largest hairest sweetest golden retriever you will ever meet. He was the most perfect golden red color. He had beautiful golden eyes. He hogged our couch, he shed all over the place, and he adored Colson. They were best friends. I remember Bud was afraid of the camera. One time I tried taking pictures of Colson, and Bud walked over to him and layed his head on him as if to protect him from danger. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that Colson remembers him with a love like that.

We rescued Bud and had him until Cayleigh was born. Judge me if you will, but we just didn't have the room or the time to vacuum 18 times a day any longer with two children to take care of as well. We sent Bud to the Golden Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin, where he was adopted within weeks as we knew he would be. They have a very tough screening program, so we were confident he would find an excellent home. And he did. And I guess I just thought Colson would've forgot about it by now.

The odd thing about this is that Colson doesn't even like dogs. Gramma and Papa have two dogs, Barry and Gunner. Anytime they get near Colson he yells and freaks out for them to go away. Understandable considering he can't just swat them away. Why then the sudden request for a dog?

"You'll have to ask Daddy" I say. Temporarily avoiding conflict. (I love avoiding conflict. Can't we all just be happy!).

"I did already".

Damn.

Mommy - zero. Colson - one.

"You did already?" I needed confirmation. Obviously, he must have. The boy doesn't forget anything.

"Yes. And Daddy said yes.".

I asked him what color dog he wanted. An orange one he said. Of course. It's his favorite color. It's also sort of the color Bud was.

I asked him what kind of dog he wanted, big or small? Thinking he'd want a small one. "A BIG one" said my tiny robot from the backseat.

We called Daddy when we got home.

"Daddy, did you tell Colson he could get a puppy?"

"No."

Colson starts sulking. He hates being proven wrong. He hates it even more now that he can't have a puppy.

"But Mommy! MY puppy got traded to a new family. We HAVE to get a new puppy!"

"Ask me later Babycakes." I say. Once again, avoiding conflict. Heh.

Mommy - one. Colson - one.

Tied for now. 

Love my tiny robot.

And his tiny sister.

Love to all of you.



Bud won this battle. He's even smiling about it. Love you Bud dog.