Babies, Beagles and Blessings

"Maesyn, meet Grace."  "Grace, meet Maesyn"

I love this picture. Both Maesyn and Grace seem to be checking each other out. I'd give anything to know what is going on in both of their minds. When we decided to get a dog 4 years ago, one of the factors we weighed very heavily was how the dog would be with young children. As we researched and spoke with people who had beagles, we heard story after story like these:

"Oh, I had a beagle when I was a kid. That dog and I went everywhere together"

"Beagles are so good with kids, my kids tugged on their ears and the beagle just went and hid after a while."

Then there was the neighborhood kid who told us after he met Grace for the first time, "We had a beagle but we had to put her down because she went mad."   "Thanks for sharing, kid, now get lost",  I muttered in my WC Fields voice.

 Beagles are dopes, but I say that affectionately. They are not high energy dogs, except in short bursts. They are breed to sniff out things like rabbits, moles, and even bedbugs. Seriously. When the University of Nebraska had an outbreak of bed bugs in some of their dorms last year, guess who saved the day? A beagle! We thought about having Grace get a part-time job as a bedbug sniffer since she is officially listed under the "expense" column in the family budget, and last I checked, has generated no revenue. Our beagle gets wound up when she sees the signs of a walk, which she gets almost everyday. But after her walk, she is content to lounge and sleep on one of her many pillows for the rest of the day. Unless, of course, she hears the refrigerator door open. I'll text Georgette when I'm away from the house and ask, "How's Grace?" or "What is Grace up to?"  I usually get a short, terse answer such as "Dope", Or "Grace is dope".  Grace's laid back, dopey temperament makes her easy for kids to be around, especially toddlers who might want to pull on hers ears like Lyndon B Johnson did.

Grace, Maesyn and Sayler on Christmas Day

Grandchildren were not of my list of life goals and I managed to avoid fatherhood very intentionally. Then at the ripe old age of 43, I married Georgette, and the next thing I know, we've got 5 grandchildren. The fact that I am writing today about a dog and our grandchildren is more than serendipitous. I literally took the express bus to Grandpa-ville. Not a bad deal, you're thinking. Live without children until midlife, skip changing diapers, cleaning up vomit, sleepless nights and making financial sacrifices, let someone else do all the heavy lifting, then swoop into their lives to save the day and reap all the blessings as if you'd been there all along. Well, not quite. Most of that is true except for the part where I saved the day. No one needed any saving and as far as swooping in, let us just say that's open to interpretation. Needless to say, I have the family that I never thought I wanted and now can't imagine my world without.

Cooper

Our 3 grandchildren who live in Florida have 3 dogs: Cooper,  a homely but lovable chihuahua, Calloway, a stout and stodgy English Bulldog, and Penny, a skittish Yorkie. Sayler and Maesyn, pictured here, live in Kansas City and have no pets.........yet. For now, Grace is their sometimes-dog and  takes part in all of our holidays and other gatherings except when there is a large children's birthday party. It's just easier on everyone, Grace included, when the house is full of toddlers, amped up with candy, cake and the now fashionable Jump-house rental, that Grace stays home. 

It's absolutely delightful to watch our grandchildren grow and develop and I haven't yet tired or gotten used to being called "Papa".  Knowing they will be a part of the rest of my life is both gratifying and hopeful. Grace, on the other hand, has reached her potential and may not be with me the rest of my life. Today, the blessings of grandchildren and a beagle are far more than this reluctant Papa could have ever hoped for.