Dog's don't require a nappy change, either

The whole damn town is now aware that we've acquired an over grown puppy. Did not wake up in my usual perky fashion, yesterday. So I put the dog in the back of the car, annoucing I am taking him for a walk after I dropped off children, which will have to be the norm come winter anyway. It is a perfect place for a walk. Like all good government schools, my children's is right by the bay, complete with an astounding sea view. Exit Thing 1's classroom and you whale watch from the stoep, and Thing 2 can keep tabs on the surfers from the jungle gym. Leave the school grounds and there is a circular walk along the beach front. It's a tough life.

It takes me 30 seconds to cross the parking lot and deposit children on the other side. I return to see the dog is no longer sitting in the back, but in the driver's seat. The door slides open and the dog is flying across the parking lot on his way to join the kids. Only his fear of motorised vehicles keeps him from crossing. As I run after him in the mayhem of school drop off, I remember the trainer's words, 'Dogs like to play chasing games.' I stop. Call. Dog comes.

Thing 1 said many, many, many children came up to tell him they saw his new dog.

We shall be working on that one.

Of course, after the initial chaos the walk was fine. He acted like some docile creature, sweet, friendly, could do no wrong.

Many people have told me that raising pets is a lot like raising children. In fact, shortly after I gave birth to Thing 1 there was one person in particular who liked to one-up any parental hurdle I had with a story of her dog. It is true that Orwell has commonalities with a large toddler. Damn creature even has a bedtime - it is at the same time as the kids'. (Through trial and error we learned he likes it that way and, most importantly, I get more sleep.) But Orwell is a dog. I can't buy a liter of milk by myself without making sure the KIDS are being cared for by an adult in one form or another. With children, there is no securing the gate and making a dash for it. Other bonus: the blasted dog never, ever, ever asks, 'Are we there yet?' or 'Can you carry me?' when out for a walk. For this, I am grateful.

As you can probably note from my posts, I am bloody thrilled to be a dog owner. I consider him highly therapeutic to my new approach to life which is requiring me to be more active and very lazy at the same time. I am carefully continuing to go through George's Write Away, whose writing style is nothing like my own. But in this new life my approach to writing must alter, or at the very least, bend.

I cannot claim my writing style is a perfect one. Nor can I claim it has brought me great success. I am highly aware of what my short comings are, but I need to address them without wrecking my strength. I am terrible at dotting the i's and crossing the t's, outlines and all the rules. It shows. But the natural flow that allows the story to naturally unravel and become - that is something that floats in this little realm and if you, as a writer, lose it, so help you. Perfect grammar and layout can be found in textbooks, yet oddly enough they never do make the New York Times best sellers list.

So here we are, writing without writing. Planning. Going slow. Thinking carefully because I have to stop floundering around, barrelling through, pushing through it (writing 50,000 words last year in 2 weeks was physically a huge mistake). I have to look at all these fantastic submission opportunities that have cropped up this month and go, 'Multi-task writing is not for this year. Focus.'

Who knows? It could work.

Which makes my friend JKB's FB link so timely, Glennon Melton: Don't Carpe Diem. Did not anticipate a fabulous writing quote in a parenting article. But then again, writing - it is all interconnected.

There was a famous writer who, when asked if he loved writing, replied, "No, but I love having written." What I wanted to say to this sweet woman was, "Are you sure? Are you sure you don't mean you love having parented?"

I love having written. And I love having parented. My favorite part of each day is when the kids are put to sleep (to bed) and Craig and I sink into the couch to watch some quality TV, like Celebrity Wife Swap, and congratulate each other on a job well done. Or a job done, at least.

Comments

[Kara]

I have had the dog running across the parking lot moment more than once. It's amazing how calm the dog can be after a stressful ordeal. Good luck on your writing research. It must be hard to focus on writing without writing. I can see why you need to step back to see what's what before diving in again.

[Damaria Senne]

This taking it slow approach sounds good: more time to rest ( your brain, your hands) and to let the stories percolate more in your head.

[Judy Croome]

Yup! My motto for 2012 is also FOCUS! (today I haven't been so good at that!!)

And Orwell's adventures make me SO glad HRH is a cat. Low maintenance pets. Okay, you're their slave for life, but it's a pretty easy serfdom!

Hope Orwell's wound is healing well!

Judy, South Africa

[fred]

aint change fun.....what a riot...

orwell will come to ask a lot of questions