OK ... I know this is starting to turn into a doggie blog, but everybody likes doggies, right?
So this summer, we had an addition to our family: an eight-week-old Boston Terrier puppy. He has brought us much joy over the short time we have had him. He's also been a lot of work.
This holiday season has been much more about him than us. No problem there. But I must admit, Christmas has felt a little different this year. It hasn't been as, well, Christmassy. We couldn't get a full-size tree for fear that he would eat the pine needles. We couldn't decorate as much, because many of our decorations would be within his reach. We didn't do nearly as much holiday shopping; no trips to the mall; no stopping at the Caribou kiosk for a cup of hot chocolate; no shopping around for new ornaments for the tree, which has become an annual tradition for us.
Then Christmas morning arrived. None of us were feeling very well; it's that time of year when everyone is sick. But worst of all, our boy was not feeling well. Boston Terriers are notorious for having sensitive tummies. The slightest change and sometimes things don't work the way they're supposed to work. We know our boy, and we could tell he just wasn't right.
A nice long walk would be just the thing he needed. But this particular Christmas morning in Minnesota saw the mercury falling a few degrees shy of the zero mark. So we spent what seemed like an hour and a half getting him dressed, because along with their sensitive tummies, Boston Terriers are also not very well-equipped to handle cold Minnesota winters.
Then we get outside. Somehow, he finds more energy. He and his newly-found zest for life charge ahead, into the bitter cold. We walk and walk and walk. He is having so much fun.
Ironically, his papa — who has lived in Minnesota for fifty-three years — doesn't handle the cold quite as well as our little furry companion. But I will use the excuse that he is quite a bit younger than I am — even in dog years.
Suddenly, I don't care so much about big Christmas trees, or holiday shopping at the mall, or anything else that I had grown accustom to around this time of year. It's not that I'm terribly materialistic. Those things always just made me feel happy because they brought along memories; happy thoughts of sharing the holiday season with family and loved ones.
But right now they don't seem to matter quite so much. Besides, if we ever feel a lack of Christmas cheer, we can always dress our boy up with holiday sweaters, doggie santa hats or tiny reindeer antlers for our own amusement. Because let's face it, that's what Christmas is all about, right?