Thursday 21 March 2013

Bringing up Boys - Puppies, Boys and The Ultimate Challenge




Whippet puppy: Five days old
I don’t think that it was the cleverest idea I had and certainly not one that I should have voiced.
However, it’s over and one now and I have to stick with it come hell or high water. I promised.
Somewhere along the line I voiced my wish that it would be great to keep a puppy from the Wickedest Whippet’s latest litter. Never mind that we already have four dogs. I actually said I wanted one.
And I said it in my boys’ hearing.
Stupid woman!
“Really Mum?” says my eldest; the one who came to watch the puppies being born, the one who found the whole thing amazing, sickening and fascinating and yucky all at the same time. “Can we really keep one?”
It was too late to backtrack and he said it with such yearning and before I knew it I was tumbling back the years to when I longed for a dog too.
I could feel it gnawing at my soul, and it hurt just like it did then when I begged and cajoled my parents. When bliss for me was being left alone to play with other people’s dogs on long Sunday afternoons when we went round for interminably long lunches that drifted well into Drinks’ time.
Being the eldest child amongst my parents’ friends by some years meant that when I was little the only companions who could actually play with me invariably would be the dogs. Not that I complained.
And then there I was with my son looking at me with such longing. And I don’t know how but I agreed, and even got my husband to agree, that if my eldest could demonstrate to us that he was mature enough to look after a puppy then he could keep it.
This is now a MAJOR quest.
My eldest, aged 10, has to go from Zero to Hero in less than two months. It is a massive ask. From lazy slug-abed living in a bombsite with Lego IEDs littered everywhere, serious attitude problems especially when told to do anything, incapable of getting from Point A to Point B without getting  distracted or forgetting things to uber-organised angel boy at home and school.
It’s impossible!
This is probably the greatest challenge in his life so far and I am terrified he won't be able to do it. But he wants it so badly. He is trying SO hard - getting it SO wrong but for all the right reasons.
He certainly gets up without a mumur in the morning to do a list of jobs from letting the dogs out to laying the table and even bringing me tea in bed - problem is he's doing it at 5.30am in the morning. A tad too early for me but I can't tell him off can I?
He is focussed at last, he is working so hard and I am praying that he'll succeed.
Oh please wish him luck!

6 comments:

Helpful Mum said...

Good Luck! I hope he succeeds. My mum said I could have a hamster if I sorted out our cats matted fur (she had got fat and couldn't clean it). I cut her fur off! Mum couldn't argue I hadn't done what she had asked and I did get the hamster, called Nibbles.

Tattieweasle said...

Helpful Mum - Oh Thank you! I thought your solution to the cat's fur was brilliant and I hope Nibbles was everything you wanted too!

janerowena said...

It reminds me of my parents never letting us out of the house until after we had had breakfast. So when it snowed, my sisters and I would take them breakfast in bed at around 6am. It worked a few times before they rebelled - I think they were too tired to think straight the first couple of times!

Beadzoid said...

It could well be the making of him! Fingers crossed :) But heheeee 5.30am? Ouch!

Rob-bear said...

What? Another Wicked Whippet in your household? (Is there any kind of Whippet other than wicked?)

Well the lad is trying so hard. (Yes, I know; very trying.) But somehow, ten seems to be a bit of a charmed age — same as our grandson. I do hope that this works for him, even if it means a bit (more like a lot) of help.

Blessings and Bear hugs.

(Oh, yes; it's spring. I am back.)

Annie Cholewa said...

No more news? How's it going?

Go on you know you want to...

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin