Chaos+Chaos=Peace?

It’s a miracle. I real-life, true-blue miracle. I realized today that by adding more chaos to my already chaotic life I succeeded in doing the impossible – I’ve found a small bit of peace. It comes in fits and spurts but it is peace nonetheless.

How did I pull off this miracle of miracles?

By welcoming a new family member – our puppy Roxie – into our lives.

Jeff and I realized that adding a dog to our family was inevitable. We love dogs and so do our boys. We knew it was just a matter of timing. There were so many things to consider: When did we want to welcome a furry friend? What type of furry friend did we want? Were any of our children ready to shoulder some of the responsibility that comes with having a furry friend?

Turns out we didn’t have a chance to answer these questions. On October 22, 2010 Roxie came bounding into our lives with her big eyes and affectionate face licks. I think my Aunt Jan said it best, “You didn’t find Roxie. Roxie found you.”

Roxie -- 8 weeks old!

Roxie found us via my friend Dorey whose brother first rescued her. He found this tiny, four pound, six week old pup abandoned underneath the deck of a nearby home. So, Roxie needed a family to love her. Dorey asked me if we were willing.

Um, yeah!

That’s exactly what I said.

I didn’t think about it.

The words just came falling out.

I was looking at that cute little face. I was watching my three boys giggle as she licked their precious cheeks. We were captivated.

Now we just had to convince my husband Jeff.

So, here’s the thing.

At the time I was asked whether or not we would give Roxie a home, we were at my six year old son Colin’s little league game. Jeff is his coach. As I was handed the wiggling pup, he was on the field with his team – oblivious.

He was missing the transformation - the transformation of his family from a family without a dog, to a family in love with THEIR dog.

The poor guy didn’t know what was about to hit him.

And as much as we were spellbound, so were the 24 other families in attendance at the game. As Jeff came off the field he was met with a flurry of high-fives.

He looked bewildered.

I held up Roxie.

He shook his head with a smirk.

The deal was done.

Over the next few weeks we acclimated ourselves to life with a puppy while Roxie basked in our outpouring of love and affection.

I also quickly recalled that having a puppy is very much like having a baby. Roxie was waking us up at all hours of the night. She slept peacefully during the day. And instead of a diaper, she constantly needed to go outside and unleash.

Roxie caught "Red-Handed" chewing on a pair of Uggs.



I have to admit there were more than a few moments when I thought….

OH MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE?

But those thoughts were fleeting. Because, despite the extra work, I gradually began to realize that by adding more chaos (Roxie) to our lives, we were experiencing more peace.

Instead of coming home and arguing over what television show to watch, the boys laugh together as they play in the yard with Roxie.

Instead of grumbling about doing homework, the boys finish as quickly as they can so that they can be the first to take Roxie for a walk.

And in the evenings, after dinner, rather than fight over bedtime, one or two of the boys now choose to accompany me on a walk around the neighborhood with our pup.

I am so grateful to Roxie for these little gems of peace. She has given us moments of time when we all take a moment to breathe in the fresh air feeling happy just for the time spent together.

And then life returns to normal.

We bring Roxie inside. She chews my new shoes. The boys voice the 52 reasons why they don’t need to do their homework/brush their teeth/go to bed. But that’s ok. We had fun today!

Thanks Roxie!

Christmas Roxie