Terry's 3M's

I am sitting here panting. Out of breath. Shaky. Half my butt is wet, too. I didn't realize it until now. Hold on.

Whew! That's better. Dry pants on now.

Tabitha is in heat. Since she just had a litter in May, we don't want her to have another litter this year...actually, we don't want her to have any more puppies. (And a pox on my sister and brother-in-law for not getting her neutered when they said they would.)

The only way to prevent the advent of more puppies is to separate the dogs. So, Sunny has been inside for the past three days. He's been morose without Tabitha, but, that can't be helped for now. At least that was the idea.

I was sitting here about 15 minutes ago, writing a letter. This room is a double room. The front part is off the family room. This is supposed to be a living room. But, it has the small computer desk with a small bookcase making an L. against the inner wall. The bookcase holds the scanner and some other supplies. It's almost 4 feet more to the little section of wall that juts out and is supposed to be the beginning of the next room...the dining room. The wall is about 8 inches longer than the 7 foot tall bookcase that rests against it. On the exterior wall, there is my huge desk. It's used as a catch-all.

In the 'dining' room, there is a table. A round table that is about 4 feet in diameter. During the school year, this is where homework is done. The window that faces the backyard is a sliding glass window that starts about 18 inches from the floor and goes up to within 8 inches from the ceiling. It's about 5 feet wide. It used to have a solar screen, but, the dogs ruined it. So, now it just opens onto the open patio and the adults have ruled that it mustn't be opened because it's low enough for the dogs to jump into the house. (You see where this is going, don't you?)

So, I'm sitting here typing when I hear the window slide and there's a shout: "SUNNY!!!"

I lose my cool and call my guilty neice a nasty name as I run to the back door.

Have you ever chased two golden retreivers around a backyard? It's not an easy task...even if you're in shape. And with all this extra weight, I am decidedly not in shape. However, I was motivated...I don't want all the extra work I have to do, unrewarded, when the puppies come. So, I caught the horny male before he had a chance to do what he wanted to do.

Then comes the hard part. Wrestling an 80 pound dog back into the house. He struggled formidably as I held on by the back of his neck and a third of the way down his back. It's only 6 feet to the back door, but, it's slow going as I pull forward and he pulls back. As I get closer, I yell for the kids to open the door...there is no way I can let go to open the door. The door opens and now the kids are struggling to keep Tabitha out of house because she knows that Sunny's going inside.

Finally, I get Sunny into the back door. He's struggling harder than ever and almost gets loose before I regain my grip. Somehow, I am now struggling almost face to face with him as I am now sitting on the kitchen floor. The door won't close. Sunny's body is blocking the door. I scoot backward on the floor dragging the dog with me. At last the back door is shut and locked.

I ask Stephanie, "Why did you open the window?" She shrugs. I send her to her room. She just sent down a note apologizing.

"Dear Mom, (told you--I co-parent these kids. She calls me Mom or Mama as often as she calls me Auntie)
I am sorry that I let the dog out and I wote [won't] do it ever agone [again]. I wote even tuch [touch] it [the window].
Love,
Stephanie

I'll let her out in just a little bit. I told her I'd let her out in time to watch the movie [Faye rented Home Alone 3 for the kids].

Oh, the wet spot on my shorts. When scooting back on the kitchen floor, I slid through some of the water that had slopped over Sunny's water bowl.

Well, I guess I better get this uploaded. It' only about quarter to 11AM, but, the kids want an early lunch so that they can watch the movie without interuption. And Stephanie is out of her room.