A Goodbye Latte

So I don't actually write down that many entries anymore, but I compose them in my head all the time.  For the last month I've been thinking about writing a goodbye latte.  We have good friends, the parents of some of Mason's good friends, who moved to California last month.  I'm excited for them and their new adventure, but it was sad to see them go.  So that's a goodbye that is no fun, but we've already planned a holiday trip out west.

Another latte that I've started to work on in my head is my big 4-0 latte, less than a month away now.  In my list of great things about my life, I was all set to include my great job with the most understanding, flexible, and fun boss anyone could ask for.  Seriously, I once sent him as email that I would be late because my pedicure appointment took longer than I thought.  He laughed at me, and said that in 40 years he had never heard that excuse.

But then everything changed, I showed up for work and the alarm was still set which should have been a red flag.  I never got to say a goodbye that he heard.  A whole community of his friends, family, and coworkers are trying to figure out how to say goodbye and how to live without the joy and wisdom that this man brought to all he met.  He lived a very full life in his 72 years, but he wasn't done.  Now I'm trying to hold it all together both personally and professionally.  I burst into tears last Friday when the cashier at Whole Foods asked if I was having a good day.  Tomorrow I will return to the task of calling work associates to give them the sad and shocking news.  So this is a goodbye latte to a great man who made fun of my latte habit.  It's a goodbye I wasn't ready to say.

Give a big hug to your loved ones, call an old friend you've been too busy to meet for lunch.  Plan a trip to see friends who moved across the country.  You could even simply meet a friend for a latte.

A Shameful Latte

Recently, my sister in law sent me a link to a website, http://dog-shaming.com/. It is hilarious!  What's really funny about it is that any one of the pictures could be of my dog, Jack.  He is a one year old boxer/german shepherd mix.  He weighs upwards of 60 pounds, and he has had a very busy year in my house.  In case you haven't seen the website, it shows things like a sweet looking dog surrounded by what's left of a nice sofa or a puppy next to a note that says "I just ate an entire lobster dinner."

Here's the thing, though, I realize that all of the photos should have an owner-shaming photo with them.  Someone actually left a destructive dog alone with valuables.  I know because I've done it, many, many times.  I'm not sure why I think he won't get anything off the counter, table, couch, etc.  Just this afternoon, after I started composing this latte in my head, Jack took a library book off of the dining room table and had a snack on the corners.  Mary Jane was not happy, and I'm going to have to talk to the school librarian in the morning.

So here it is for all to see.  Take this as a warning if you are thinking of getting a puppy.  House breaking is easy, chewing habits are not. And puppies get big, really quickly.  Here is a list of things that our puppy has destroyed, it is not a complete list because some things are just too hard to put in writing:

My Dog and Owner Shaming List

• A full wedge of brie cheese
• One pair of really nice Chaco flip flops (I replaced them today after 6 weeks in a cheap pair)
• Part of our couch
• Most of the screen from our porch
• Mason's teddy bear's eyes (that led to a not fun trip of button shopping for replacements)
• Too many of Mary Jane's shoes to count
• Socks - we know this because of what we've seen in our backyard
• Many, many tupperware containers
• A babysitter's cell phone (surprisingly, she came back!)

As I'm writing this, I'm watching him try to get a cord out from under the TV stand.  I keep thinking he will calm down soon or our grumpy 6 year old dog will whip him into shape.  Still, he curls up next to me when I'm going to sleep and I'm pretty sure he's the most effective security system we will ever have.  

Beware of puppies, babies are lots of work, but they ease into it.  Puppies will chew anything they can from day one, and "free" puppies might end up costing close to $1000 within the first year - at least if you go to the humane society, the puppy will come with a set of vaccinations.  Still, we are a household of dog people and the house would seem empty without them.