It’s been an entire week since I last posted. That’s the longest stretch between posts since I’ve started this blog. It’s not that I have nothing about which to write. There are plenty of topics in the works. So where I have been?

I’ve continued to ride the post-op roller coaster. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. It’s been a bumpy ride. And as I’ve mentioned before, on the outside, I look fine. I can walk normally. But I’m not 100%. And that’s frustrating.

A lot has happened in the past week. I got sick. The stomach flu or food poisoning, who knows. I haven’t been sick like that in years. It was rough. And I felt guilty. Guilty for missing more work. Worried that everyone is thinking I’m taking advantage of their understanding and generosity of which I have been so grateful.

I just want to be normal again. I just want to feel normal. I want to have one good night of sleep. {New moms out there are screaming, “Wuss!” right now.} I want everything to be okay. Or just someone to tell me it will. Or someone to stand beside me and tell me I’ll be okay, even if it will take awhile.

So that’s how I’m feeling as I write this. But every roller coaster has its ups as well as downs and I’ve certainly had my share of ups and spontaneity in the last week as well. For one, we welcomed a new addition to our family:

Meet Shamrock!

Yes, we’ve adopted another pooch! This is something we had not planned to do until after we said good-bye to our beloved Benny Bear. But, no worries, we haven’t! We are a family of five now!

How did this happen, you ask? Well, as I was riding my post-op roller coaster, one of the ways Rob tries to cheer me up is by emailing me pictures of pooches. They can be ones he’s found on the internet doing searches of a particular breed, dogs that are in need of adoption, dogs that look like our dogs… funny dog photos. You get the picture. We talk about which ones are cute and “awwwwwwwwwwwww” becomes the phrase of the day in correspondence. We’ve been doing this for years. But we’ve never, never spoken about actually adopting one.

Until last week. After Rob sent me a link of Shih Tzu search he’d done, I was surprised to find this listing in the search. {The link has now been removed from the searchable site, but it should still work.} Basically, this:

Cocker Spaniel/Shih Tzu Mix

New addition to CS Humane Society.  He is a 5 month old puppy that loves everyone.  He is ready for his forever home to teach him all about being a good boy. He is neutered, current on shots, microchipped and tested negative for heartworm. For more information, please call the pet line at ….

What? A Cocker Spaniel Shih Tzu? That’s a Sophie-Benny blend! And how a-dog-able he is! In our usual fashion, I sent the link over to Rob and he responded with an “awww…” But then, five minutes later, he came back with, “Okay. I really want this dog.”

“Are you serious?!” was my response. After convincing me that having another dog would make things easier on Sophie when 17-year-old Benny passes, he made the call. And by the following evening, his foster parents dropped him off at his forever home. (Aka chez Cummins!)

Of course, it was a concern of mine to bring a puppy into our household when I’m not 100% well yet. And I didn’t get much peace while I stayed home from work throwing up. It’s not easy to have a hyper pup bouncing all over you, innocently just wanting to play!

But… He is a bundle of love. And Sophie is slowly warming up to him. She’s becoming less apprehensive and playing with him a little more each day. When it comes to dogs, we are all about adoptions and rescues. While I don’t particularly see the Shih Tzu in him (except for, maybe, his short legs), I do believe that is how he was brought to us… that he popped up into that search for a reason. My husband doesn’t believe that kind of stuff. But why else would he have been drawn to a dog that looks so much like a miniature Benny Bear? 😉

Benny

Shamrock