Musings on time and puppies

Tomorrow is the last day of August. I'm not at all sure where the month went. It seemed to just happen, without any startling moments. Okay, launch of my new book was a high but not startling--I knew it would happen. Otherwise, the days just seemed to blend into each other. Sometimes I think this is good--I don't want to be thinking, "Omigosh, is it only Tuesday?" You know what they say about time flying when you're having fun, and I guess that's what happened to me. But at my age, I always hear "Time's winged chariot drawing near." A big part of me doesn't want time to pass that quickly. I think I have to learn to savor every minute, but I do savor special moments: reading an interview with me on a blog this morning--http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-mystery-author-judy.html--check it out because I thought it read pretty well. And this afternoon, with Jacob standing on the porch, waving at the crossing guard, and calling "Mr. Booker, Mr. Booker." I explained the guard was too busy directing traffic and helping people across the street to hear him. We finally agreed that Jacob could go to the curb but not step off. To his delight, Booker finally saw him and called, "Hey, buddy!" Of course, every student at that school is Booker's buddy, but I didn't tell Jacob that.
Maybe time goes by so quickly because I'm occupied with animals (more than with writing, though I wish it was the other way around). I'm running this geriatric center for a dog and a cat--today I scraped my thumb with the sterile needle I was about to use to infuse Wywy. Bled and bled, and tonight it's sore. Sometimes I wonder if it's like a nursing home, where they're waiting to die, but both Wywy and Scooby have a good quality of life and I work hard to ensure that. Wywy can still get enraged by the puppy, but Scooby plays with her a bit. Again, I need to slow down and sit outside while the dogs play. I try to balance time with them, and this afternoon I left Sophie with Jacob and kept Scooby in the office with me. He was nervous and wanted to go to his bed. My neurotic dog! Can't do much about the cat except try to keep him healthy. Happy? Who knows with cats?
Sophie is a joy and a trial. We were at the point that we had one accident-free day and several with only one accident, but now we've regressed. Countless accidents today, even when I'd just taken her out. One was because I missed her signal but she gave no signal for most. The classic wisdom of grab her and whisk her outside does no good--by the time I make it to the back door from the office (her favorite pooping ground), she's forgotten the urge. Then again, right now she's curled at my feet, as sweet and calm as she can be. I just worry that she'll never be housebroken. It's been years since I housetrained a puppy, and my attempts with older dogs have been a failure. I'm a bit at my wit's end here--and a bit nervous.
I think back though to days when I watched mindless TV because I didn't have much else to do, days when I went to bed really early out of boredom, days when I didn't have much to do at my desk, and I thank the Lord for all the work that's piled up, for all the things I should do and haven't gotten to, for the busy life I have. I guess that's why time is flying--and I really wouldn't have it any other way. Life is good.

May I exchange this day, please?

My day got off on the wrong foot. I got up early because I couldn't sleep and my thoughts were disturbing me. Probably I was grumpy, and my later troubles may have ensued from Sophie picking up on that. Morning routine--feed cat, take puppy out, feed big dog. All done. Fed the puppy in the kitchen, noticed she was sniffing suspiciously, and took her out. Big dog distracted her--no results. Brought her in and she immediately pooped in the kitchen. Finally made it, with puppy and coffee, to the office where I discovered the cat had left not puddles but lakes in "his" bathroom off the office. Closed the door and resolved to deal with it later. Then my email was down--TCU was having server problems. So I decided to put the puppy in her crate and do my chores, including cleaning that bathroom. I scrubbed it from top to bottom, emptied and scrubbed the litter box, and finally scrubbed me. By 9 a.m. when the internet came back up, I was ready to go back to bed.
No such luck--had to go to Petco for supplies and then to a doctor's appointment. Noon, and I was ready to go back to bed once again. Still no such luck. Emails to answer, a talk to prepare, this that and the other to get done. Note: no writing. Yikes! But I finally did put everyone down and get a nap. This is my last week of long afternoon naps. Next Monday I start picking Jacob up every day at three o'clock.
Tonight I'm watching Sophie like a hawk. Took her out for a long while after her supper but nada. I'm thinking the trick may be to put her in her crate--then when I take her out, she's used to going outside to pee. The other is another matter. She settled down for a while--after some scolding about going near wires--to play with her toys as if to say, "Look how good I can be." Now she's running around the office (not that large a space) like a crazy thing, working off all that energy she didn't run off outside tonight.
I've decided creativity is gone for the day. I'm going to read Susan Schreyer's An Error in Judgment.
Did have a nice dinner party last night--the family directly behind me has a 5-year-old boy, Sam, who will be going to kindergarten with Jacob, (and a three-year-old named Alex) so we invited them to supper so the boys could get acquainted, which they did after a few minutes shyness. I fixed crockpot barbecue for ten (including three little boys), baked beans (Bush's are soooo good, though next time I won't try those with maple syrup since they're a bit too sweet), and a potato chip and onion soup dip for appetizer. Susan brought a delicious salad with apples and raisins and spinach, and Sue joined us, so it was a bit like the old neighborhood group. Before I knew it, it was 8:30 and everyone was rushing off to get little ones to bed. Sue said later that she loved having the house so full of "boy energy." The girls--Jordan, Susan and Sue--did much of the basic kitchen clean-up for me, and Jordan took Sophie out. She has consistently been a huge help with Sophie.
A PS to the Sophie story: I decided after she ws so wild, it was a good time to take her out. She pooped, and I praised. Then I walked her around where she usually pees--forever. No result, so I left her alone in the office for two minutes while I got a glass of wine--and she peed. The appropriate end to this day.