Among my mother's many bits of sage advice was that if a guy didn't like kids and pets, don't bother with him because he probably possessed no patience or sense of humor. Another was to be careful of what you wish for.
When my husband and I were first married many years ago, two of the first things on our priority list when we could finally afford to move into our own home (where pets and kids would definitely be allowed), was of course, to get a puppy and have a baby.
We bought a beautiful little Shelty that we named Rusty, and made plans to start our family.
One of my favorite memories, of this era in our lives, was when my husband came home from work or an errand. The first thing he would do is drop everything, and greet Rusty by grabbing his little face, gently shaking his head back and forth, saying with a lot of gusto, "Hi ya, Rusty, did you miss me?"
After one particularly bad day of pregnancy, during a stupid little spurt of jealousy right in the middle of a rush of raging hormones, I made it crystal clear that I wished just ONCE in a while he would greet
his WIFE with a little attention FIRST, before showering the DOG with all his affection.
After I finished my little hissy fit, he sheepishly said he'd work on it.
The next day I heard him come in, but didn't hear him greet the little dog running in circles around him, begging for his attention. Instead, he walked straight over to me, covered my face with his hand, shook my
head back and forth and said with much gusto, "Hi ya, honey, didya miss me?"
My mother was so right about everything!
