Tis the Season

The puppies had their first experience in accumulated snow. The first day it snowed, the snowflakes were light and still falling without accumulating on the ground. They barely reacted to it, which was a little disappointing. It was reliving in a way, though. They could deal with change. Never had they seen white flakes falling from the sky, but they remained calm and played.

Remi, our red heeler, has short hair. Her ears get cold even while inside, and my husband and I hadn’t figured out the precautions of starting a fire in our basement bungalow. I decided tis the season to buy Remi a jacket, especially with the massive snow storm moving in.

Before I go to Pet Smart, I debate whether to take the pups with me. Usually, I deny them their chance at socializing and causing me stress, but I needed to get the right coat size and tis the season. Upon entering the store with these rascals on short leashes, I don’t make eye contact with anyone. Remi is pulling as hard as she can to go to anyone she can see, which is anywhere she looked.

I wanted to at least reach our destination before letting her go up to someone. As I tried harnesses on Scamper, our sheltie, I put Remi in the cart. I was apprehensive about putting her in it because she leapt out of it last time (she was about four months).

After Scamper decided the red harness with the soft vest was nice, I put them both in the cart. Having puppies never made me think it’d be like having children (not like I’d know anyway), but Scamp’s growls towards his sister as Remi shoved her butt in his face and pushed him to the back of the cart was comically similar to what I’d imagine siblings doing.

Remi was able to say hello to some people, and we found two fleece lined coats to keep Remi warm and Scamper dry in the snow. Of course, I bought the wrong size for Remi. She’s at an in between stage right now, but she’ll bulk up after she gets fixed in January. I went back the next day without them, and it was relaxing compared to bringing them.

I wonder if parents bring their kids along to stores because they don’t have another option. I don’t know much about it, but I feel empathetic for the parents I see being tugged left and right through stores by their loud kids. There were many things I couldn’t understand as I child, but I’m realizing more as I experience the world as a young adult.

When the snow came the next day, I strapped on their coats and sent the dogs out frolicking. They pranced in their coats like good sports. I was expecting them to try shaking the coats off, but they didn’t besides the usual biting the other’s neck (coat) and rolling on the ground.

The next night, my husband tried to start a fire. The chimney is very long, so we cracked the doors open to get the draft going. Unfortunately, we had half the smoke coming into our basement for an hour. The whole house smelled like burning logs, which is a plus for me and my husband. Since the house is made of logs, I think my mom was more concerned we were going to burn her house down by the time she could see smoke upstairs.

By the end, I shoved the last log to the back of the fireplace grate, and the smoke went straight up the chimney. We were freezing and done with the fire, but I shoved the grate to the very back of the fireplace for next time. My husband, like all of us, gets overly frustrated when things don’t go well, and I don’t think he wanted to try to have another fire. I told him I pushed the grate back and my mom agreed that was probably what we needed to do.

We gave it another go and perfection. Remi’s ears are no longer cold in the house, and we get to smell one of our favorite scents this holiday season.

Sometimes trying doesn’t seem worth the effort, but persistence can make it worth the effort. By the end of our shopping trip, Remi and Scamper trotted out of that store without barking or pulling towards anyone walking around us. I was a proud doggy mom and gave them venison dental sticks for the ride home.

 It was worth the smoke and cold the first night of having a fire, yet it didn’t feel like it. Now, we hear the crackle and feel heat radiate our space with holiday cheer, and we know (now) it was worth it.