[Dailydrool] Not so young anymore

[Elizabeth Lindsey User]

Yesterday I had the sprinkler out trying to revive my drooping hydrangeas,
who really hate this 90-degree weather we've been having. Young Charlie was
out with me. Last year whenever I had the sprinkler going, I couldn't keep
him out of it. This year he shows no interest in standing in the spray and
trying to bite the water jets. I invited him to play in the sprinkler, but
he hung back and said not now.

I thought Charlie would be my eternal puppy, but it appears as if he's grown
up. He's still very naughty at least once a day, but that's different from
being silly puppy. When he lifts the dental floss from the nightstand and
parades it in front of me now, it's to get my attention and force me to
interact with him, not because he believes he's found some new and wonderful
toy.

A couple of weeks ago we hosted a slumber party for Lola, our friend
Jennifer's new beagle puppy. Lola is estimated to be about 10 months old.
She's like having a loose cannon in the house. She's in constant motion,
playing with toys or running around in the backyard. Everything's a toy, and
everything's a game to her. While she was here, I was on hyper alert the
whole time, keeping her within eyesight so I could stop her if she started
destroying something she shouldn't. Her energy level was exhausting to be
around. 

Having her here made me realize how much our young Charlie has matured over
the last year and a half. He no longer has to play hard every morning during
my breakfast. Instead, he sleeps on one of his beds. He no longer has to be
penned up in my office so I can keep a close eye on him while I work. I can
give him the run of the house now and trust him not to go looking for
trouble (or fun, as he might put it). Instead, he asks to be put up on the
bed that's on his half of "our" desk and he quietly looks out the window or
sleeps while I work. We can keep the toilet paper on the shelf in the
bathroom again and Ken can leave his clothes on the floor. Okay, the day
before yesterday Charlie grabbed the toilet paper roll I left on top of the
washer, and yesterday he dragged Ken's handkerchief into the living room,
and no roll of Ace bandages are safe from him, ever. But it's been ages
since he's been on top of the coffee table looking for things to tear up,
and we've been able to become careless about leaving things on the floor
because for the most part Charlie ignores them now.

At two-and-a-half, Charlie is no longer busy busy busy all day long and the
energy level in our home has dropped considerably. He's now able to sleep
during the day and play with his toys by himself. He no longer asks our
Elsinore to play with him many times a day, just once or twice. Not
everything is a toy anymore, and not everything is a game.

I'm glad I got those photos of him playing in the sprinkler last year
because it looks as if he's outgrown that delightful puppy behavior for
good. I think he'll always be young in his heart and he'll always be
mischievous, but it seems he's done being a puppy. Pigs really do fly.

Elizabeth