So I’ve been “on the road” this week. I’ve been to Sarasota and Miami, doing a couple of events in both towns, and I’ve been lucky enough that my husband was able to accompany me on my Miami trip. We came over on Thursday and will leave on Saturday, and so what, you might ask, did we do with the infamous troll? (You might ask, I said, I didn’t say you actually would).
Well, what we did was we boarded her. For the first time. She’s nine years old and we have taken her with us everywhere. Which, when you consider the fact that she is a 120 pound shedding, gassy, drool producing machine is really quite good of us. I mean, that whole pope curing Parkinson’s thing has nothing on us, right? Beatification is clearly just around the corner.
And yet, the Hyatt does not seem to share our miraculous, patient love of all things Niko. In fact, they’re downright rude about it. And so we found a place, scoped it out, and then…dropped her off. And all I have to ask of parents with actual human children out there is: How do you DO that?! How do you drop your kids off at other people’s houses? It’s a good thing I don’t have kids, as I would likely duct tape them to my body. I suppose you get used to it? Inured to it? Do you eventually embrace it? Look for reasons and opportunities to do it?
And obviously it can’t be good for your kids to duct tape them to your body. For one thing, duct tape hurts like hell when you peel it off, and it always leaves those patches of gray stickiness that you have to rub off for days (don’t ask me how I know that) and that leave tender patches of pink skin behind. And surely the psychiactric bills from over-protected children must be astronomical.
But does it matter with a dog? I’m not sure. All I know is that I miss her. Oh, and the title?
Squirrels. Definitely squirrels.
I completely understand.
Our dog is almost eleven and we have NEVER boarded her… in fact, the DH and I have taken separate vacations so that one of is always home with her if we can’t take her with us.
But then, I homeschool my daughter, if that tells you anything.
Kristy, it’s a physical yearning missing Niko, isn’t it? That’s why I’ve never been able to drop-off my children. No babysitters, no daycare, just my husband and me. Sure, I’d leave them with my mother, when I went into the hospital to have another one. The first six months of kindergarten were torture for me, too. *Sigh* Just think about that reunion and all the Niko slobber. That will get you through. And good luck at the readings!
Ahh I know how you feel. I hate leaving my dogs anywhere, I keep thinking the doggieboogyman will get them, or the sweet people they are staying with are really monsters. But, they always come back fine. It’s a strange world.
Amy is so-o-o right, Kristy. The reunion will make up for everything…sort of. Leaving children, once they’re old enough to understand, just doesn’t seem the same as trying to explain your absence to wo/men’s best friend. Though who knows, perhaps they understand and accept much better than we do?
Poor Kristy! Just remember, dogs have no sense of time, so the troll won’t know how long you’ve been gone. Just wear the same (unwashed) outfit as when you dropped him off and make like it was ten minutes.
I’m no better. I’ve only left my kids 3 times in 15 years, and never for longer than 4 days. And all three times with our my mother.
P.S. I think your title should win some sort of Deb “Best Title Ever” Award. I laughed out loud at the image.
Our dogs adore the kennel- when we drop them off they run inside and don’t look back at us. This could be because the kennel has a huge 1/4 acre for them to run on as well as there is a giant dog playground with tunnels, ramps etc. It looks so good I’ve considered staying there.
This probably doesn’t bode well for me, but neither my dog (years ago – we are currently pet-less) nor my kids did/do well with us leaving. I know they say it’s the fault of the parents (if we were okay with it, they’d be okay with it, so I guess the truth is not – we’re not okay with it!), but I don’t know how those other parents do it – their dogs or kids are ecstatic at the idea of a kennel or sleepover – the beings in my care act as if I’ve driven them over the border and left them there to fend for themselves. This has proven to be a bit of a problem at book signings (totally unprofessional, but yes, our kids are there and so far, so good), but we are working on coming up with some adult solutions pretty soon. So if we see you at the bookstore near you, don’t be surprised if you see a couple of kids lurking near by … all I can say is, thank goodness we don’t have any pets at the moment or it would be a regular zoo on tour …