We did a rather silly thing this past week.

And her name is Dany.

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Dany (short for “Daenerys Shelterborn”) is an 8-week-old Shepherd/Cattle Dog/pitbull mix and she comes to us at such an interesting time in our lives.

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She’s a sweet girl and very good (and smart) for a puppy.

And yet it’s been a big adjustment for our family to have both a 7-month-old infant and 2-month-old puppy. In all honesty, I knew it’d be a lot; I just hadn’t fully realized how much juggling would be involved.

Some moments are really tough. But overall, this past week has been one of huge growth for me personally.

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Though I’ve had perfectionist tendencies, both having a baby and now a puppy have stretched me in ways I never expected – I’m learning to lean in and embrace chaos. 

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The only way I’ve found to make it through the chaotic moments – the moments when the puppy is pooping on the floor while I’m nursing the baby – is to cling to perspective and the long-term vision.

~ Dany is learning fast and we’re getting into a groove. In a month, it will be a different story (full of new challenges, I’m sure!)

~ We’ve been a two-dog household for almost ten years. We’re more complete again.

~ My son will get to grow up alongside Dany and they’ll learn to respect each other, learn from each other and (hopefully) entertain each other.

~ Leaning into the chaos is training me to go with the flow, not get so upset about the small things, and take a higher-level view on the problems of the moment.

chaos

Here’s to chaos and all the life lessons we can learn from turbulent times. I don’t want my child to be scared things of that are a bit crazy but worth it in the long run. I don’t want him to quit when things get hairy (literally and figuratively.) So I’ll take every lesson that Dany throws my way. And every snuggle.

dany and baby1