My life has been absorbed by a small fluffy puppy who looks exactly like a Harrod’s Teddy Bear. Gaby is everything you could ask for in a puppy, with all the darlingness and work that includes.

Right now Jay and I are obsessed with her toileting habits, or lack thereof. We have a party when she makes it outside, and she is beginning to recognize our disappointment when she doesn’t. I am reminded of what great partners we are when looking after someone who needs us. We are good at nurturing and we work well together. It’s a bit reminiscent of our early parenting years, which were some of the best times of my life.

This morning Gaby was whining in her crate at 5:30 a.m. I should have gotten up, but Jay kept saying he would get her since he was getting up anyway. He only wanted to put his contact lenses in first.

I knew better. I knew better! I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN OUT OF BED!! When Jay picked Gaby up out of her crate there was a stream of pee following her across the room as he ran for the back door, and I had a good laugh.

A puppy can’t be expected to hold it forever.

So we watch. Diligently. Obsessively. Constantly. And amazingly, even when we watch every moment of the day and take her outside regularly, in a split second she will be peeing on the rug in our living room and we are left wondering how on earth that happened.

This afternoon when she made a puddle on the rug she looked a bit ashamed and began to run away when I said, “Oh Gaby!” I count that as a good sign that she’s beginning to catch a clue. I grabbed her and went outside to show her where we go potty, and she pleasantly plopped down in the grass and began to chew on a buttercup.

Life is worry-free when you’re a puppy.