12 lbs, 13 weeks and counting

We took Zeldie to the vet this week and she was 12 lbs. She has put on a third of her body weight in the month that we have had her. The vet said she was entering her teenage days, which I'm not really sure how I feel about as in my jobs I am surrounded by teenagers all the time. Just another one to add to the crazy I guess. Her new favorite game is to run into our bedroom and get behind the bed and then crawl under and hide. She will be too big for this soon, we think, but it’s very cute if not a little annoying. It is amazing how quickly she can crawl to the other side of the bed though while pretty much her whole belly touching the carpet. To get out, she essentially has to turn on her side and do a movement something of a cross between a waterbug and sidestroke. Very funny.

She also graduated from puppy kindergarten this week. The instructor said she had improved a lot from the first night when she needed remediation--which is tough for two people involved with Gifted Education. But, we are teachers and so we did what we do best, which is teach.

The best part, however, is that she has had four accident free days in the house and one almost accident free day in the house. As we go through the process of training the puppy, I have realized with even more clarity the importance of consistency and boundaries. Setting boundaries with the puppy is a lot easier than it is with other people in my life—students, swimmers, family, etc. The puppy, of course, doesn't take it personally, or blame my wife for the choices I am making. She just lives happily and our relationship is thriving within the safety of the limitations we provide for her through the consistency of the boundaries we set. In fact, she is better off because of it and our relationship will continue to progress inside of the limitations. I see it like putting lane ropes in the pool for swim practice. It may be a bit more fun and free flowing to just swim wherever in the pool, but by putting the ropes in and giving her the way to be successful, we can get a lot more accomplished.

Stand as a Lighthouse

The reason we went to New York a couple of weekends ago was for Justin's graduation from high school. We all got to go to the Egg in Albany, a performing arts center that looks exactly as it's name implies. It's quite a strange building from the outside, and according to Travis there are no right angles anywhere in the main performance venue, making for very good acoustics (Travis is a gold mind of pretty much worthless building knowledge).

Zeldie was a champ when it came to all the travelling and meeting people. She was definitely the hit of the graduation party, meeting everyone and then falling asleep for a couple of hours on the floor/my lap/Willie's lap. We stayed in an all-suites hotel, which was great for travel with a puppy. We were a bit concerned with how much she was whining the first night, but we didn't want her to run free; therefore, on our king sized bed, we put Zeldie, in her crate, on the bed with us. Very silly indeed, but we felt better about making her travel so much that day.

It was quite a quick trip, but sometimes those produce the deepest thoughts. As we congregated after the ceremony, we were taking pictures in all sorts of different combinations. I really enjoyed just how happy everyone was in that moment, and how happy (almost) everyone was to take pictures. The family that was at the ceremony was certainly a blended family, with last names of Umina, Maselli, Rafferty, Horak, and Furman were all represented. Anne's father was very insistent that Willie, me, everyone was in a variety of pictures. The wholehearted acceptence of the people that are important in everyone's lives there is truly the definition of family. We all have differences, disagreements and issues with one another, but a family supports each other and truly wants to grow with each other as our lives develop. A family is what you make of it, with whomever will cherish who you are in the present time and all that makes up who you are. Those that are supportive of who you are and what is important to you is what will make up our family.

A Man and His Dog

It's been quite a busy couple of week, so we're taking a bit of a nap. Since the last posts, Zeldie has stayed with our friend Tiffani as Anne and I attended my grandfather's funeral in Texas, and then two days later we drove with her and Willie up to Albany for Justin's graduation. Zeldie did so well for the almost 10 hour car ride up and the 9.5 hour car ride back (except for the last hour on the ride up, for which she was quite cranky). Today, the whole family (Anne included) took a nap on the floor for a well deserved rest.

She's doing very well in puppy kindergarten, and she is now one of the bigger dogs in the class. She plays very nicely with most of the dogs, and is certainly the most distinctive dog in the class. We haven't seen another terrier yet. I guess the reputation as "terrors" keeps people away from getting them. We love training Zeldie, but that's probably the teacher in both of us that loves the challenge.

She's quite a spectacle wherever we go. I was walking her a couple of days ago, and someone drove by, stopped, and walked back to us to ask about her breed, etc. Everyone that comes near her wants to pet her, and of course she loves that. For the first time today, we actually ran into someone who knew what breed she is before we said anything.

Our second vet visit is tomorrow, for more puppy shots and another checkup. Hopefully the vet will be a bit more positive than the first visit.