Five Splinters and a Lesson in Following Through

Yesterday when I closed our backyard gate (it's very warped and difficult to close), I got about five little splinters. I didn't even realize it until my hand felt itchy, and it wouldn't stop. I tried to get them out myself with tweezers, but as it turns out, I'm not very good at using tweezers with my left hand. When my husband came home for dinner, I showed him my poor splintered hand and he immediately grabbed tweezers to get the splinters out. He's a "fix the problem" kind of guy. But the splinters were too small and stuck to grab with tweezers. (I promise my hand is fine... this is sounding doom and gloom, but it's really not.) But because he is a fix-it guy, when he got home in the wee hours of the morning, he put a little "splinter remover" by my laptop, so I would see it first thing in the morning. I didn't use it, of course, because nothing had changed about my ineptitude in left-handedness. After I woke him up because I thought my puppies had caught/brought inside a little mouse (it turned out to be a hairball or something... I had no idea dogs coughed up hairballs), he saw the unopened splinter remover. He immediately opened it to reveal a sharp, needle-like thing (I have no clue how to describe it) that was supposed to dig the splinters out of my hand. I had a little bit of a breakdown because I'm a wimp and imagine everything to be much worse than it really is, so he threw the splinter remover away. After I calmed down I told him, "It's too bad you threw that thing away. I think I could handle it if I just distract myself." His response? "Well I brought two home." I'm a bit concerned that my husband knows me better than he should. Because somehow I had agreed to let him remove the splinters without even realizing it. I made myself some breakfast and then ate it while he poked my poor hand and pulled out all the splinters. (It turns out I am perfectly capable of eating with my left hand...) It stung a little bit, but it wasn't really as bad as I had imagined. And I was proud of myself for following through on what I unknowingly said I would do.

You know what's interesting about that story? It made me realize how often I'm willing to do something difficult, challenging, or out of my comfort zone as long as it's not possible. I don't think that's only true when it's a few little splinters and I'm scared of the sharp needle. It also comes into effect when I tell God that I'm ready and willing to do something for Him. But when the opportunity presents itself to do exactly what I said I would do, I hesitate. Or I just don't do it. And that's not OK. I've been asking God what my purpose is during this phase of my life. I've tried getting involved at church, but nothing seems to be working out. I'm not working, so I don't interact with many people throughout the day. Except the neighborhood kids. And you know what? I've complained endlessly about having to go outside every afternoon and hang out with a bunch of kids. I can't just send my dogs outside by themselves, so I have to go too. But you know what? If that's my only opportunity to show God's love, every afternoon with a bunch of kids that love to play with my dogs and talk my ears off about all sorts of random things, perhaps I need to fix my attitude about it. Perhaps it's time I look at it as my purpose during this phase of life. Who knows when this phase will end? I have an interview on Friday morning with a woman who needs someone to watch her two-year-old son for a couple hours in the afternoons. After Friday, if all goes well, that could be my new purpose. Right now, maybe my purpose is to show God's love to whoever God has placed in my life at that particular point in time. I said I wanted a purpose. I wanted to be His light. But did I really mean it? I better have.

I went outside with the kids earlier today. The dogs weren't as energetic as usual, but sometimes that's good. It gives me a chance to do a bit more focused training while we're surrounded with distractions. Sabre will sometimes sit automatically when a car goes by now. I'm completely panicked that one of my puppies will run out in front of a car and get killed. So every time a car goes by, I tell Sabre and Tatum to sit. Tatum doesn't usually sit. She just walks over to me. (I'm working on it.) But Sabre seems to have mastered it. And I'm very excited about that! He was also the first one to run inside when I called them in after we were done playing! While puppies may be cuter than dogs, I'm loving the fact that Sabre listens AND obeys now that he's older. The kids wanted to walk around the neighborhood, so I leashed the dogs up and we went for a walk. They loved walking the dogs! They even ran with the dogs the last couple of blocks back to the house. I don't run. Hah.

I love McAlister's sweet tea. It's delicious. Sabre turned one this past Saturday. My sisters came to celebrate with us. I'm very excited about eating leftover beef stew for dinner tonight. With freshly baked biscuits. My mother will be arriving in the states for a short visit in two weeks and two days. I'm beyond excited about that! I'm trying to work up the motivation to start a novel and actually finish it. And I discovered that I do not enjoy shopping for wood for my husband's building projects. It's very boring, guys. Oh! And I think I need a chore chart for myself. The end.

Can You Tell I Stay Home with My Puppies All Day Long?

I believe I've mentioned before that Travis and I used to live in an apartment. We moved into said apartment right after we got married. After living there a year and a half, we hadn't met a single one of our neighbors. Not one. But then, last November, we got a puppy. And everything changed. Sabre was a cute little puppy and got tons of attention from other dog owners and non-dog owners alike. He made fast friends with other dogs to the point where he would sit at the window and wait for one of his friends to go outside. When he played with his doggie friends, we talked with their owners. And we got to know them. And it was wonderful! It was nice to actually know some people in our apartment complex instead of feeling like antisocial recluses.

Then we moved away. Far, far away. (Not really that far...but I'm trying to play up the dramatics.) We were back at square one. The problem this time? We have a backyard, so we don't let the dogs out the front door into a common outdoor area where other people and dogs frequently pass by. (That sentence sounds confusing and terrible all at the same time, but I'm not sure I have the willpower to correct it. It breaks all sorts of rules to end a sentence with the word 'by', I'm sure.) Needless to say, Sabre and Tatum haven't had as many dog friends or people friends since we moved.

Until yesterday.

I harnassed and leashed up both puppies and we went outside. I figured at the very least, we could go for a walk. But I also knew there were a bunch of kids playing in the street right in front of our house. Perhaps they would give my puppies some much-needed outside attention. As soon as we got out there, the kids eagerly asked if they could pet the dogs. One thing led to another, and I let them off leash. They chased the basketballs and the kids (thankfully Sabre knows he's not supposed to literally catch the kids when he chases them), and it was wonderful. They were exhausted by the end. Tatum was exhausted before the end. She's an introvert. ;) The kids knocked on the door today and asked, "Can your dogs come play?" It was cute. And we went outside for a while. Another couple passed by walking their two dogs, and my puppies made new doggie friends. Sabre really scared the poor Hound dog when he approached her though. I had both my puppies in a sit-stay, but they're still working on mastering the concept. Tatum broke first and I confirmed with the other owners that their dogs would be OK meeting mine before I let Sabre go. Just to calm your fears that my dogs are crazy and out of control. :) After the initial uncertainty, both of the other dogs came around and seemed to enjoy the encounter. They didn't want to leave. Hopefully we'll see them again and our dogs can play a bit more. Yay for doggie friends! My puppies are now exhausted. They're fighting the desire to sleep.

Yesterday Sabre chased some chickens. Poor things were scared to death. They escaped though. I'm not sure what Sabre would have done if he'd caught one. My sisters are coming to Waco for Sabre's first birthday next weekend. Hah! They thought it was kind of silly to come for his birthday, but I told them it's not silly at all. While he won't know it's his birthday, we will. And we'll have fun! :)

I'm very ready for cooler weather. I can't explain it, but I now love cold weather. It's cleaner and fresher and just nicer all around. I mean, sure it's not great if you have to be outside a lot... but neither is hot weather. At least when you come in from the cold, you don't feel like you need to shower. And I like fall/winter clothes. I like boots. And long-sleeved shirts. I'm ready for fall. But since it's still in the high nineties everyday even though it's September, I think I still have some waiting to do. I just have to remind myself that while Texas summers are horribly miserable, the other three seasons are really quite nice. It's the silver lining.