Our first "child"

I've decided that while taking care of a dog is not quite the same as taking care of a child, it's still good preparation for new parents.

Yesterday, for example, we dropped off little Molly at the vet's office to have her teeth cleaned. I felt guilty having to leave her in an unfamiliar place all day long to go through an uncomfortable procedure. I even prayed for her safety on my way to work (yes, I'm that pathetic).

When I picked her up in the afternoon, she wasn't her usual perky self (still groggy from the anesthesia), and all I wanted to do was give her a big hug and let her rest in the comfort of home all evening. But first, I had to get her home.

It was only a five-minute drive (if that), but by the time I was turning onto our street, Molly had begun making gagging noises. "No, Molly--hold on for just 15 seconds!" I said as I zoomed toward our driveway. But alas--she puked all over the floor of my car.

I could say that this is good parental preparation because of all the messes (including puke) that we'll have to clean up. But it's good preparation in other ways too--like in how it reminds us that those we love don't always deserve our love and sometimes don't make it easy to love, but we choose to love anyway. Our child will sometimes be noisy, expensive, messy, and disobedient. But for some reason, we'll love him no less with each new fiasco. And unlike Molly, someday he'll be able to tell us that he loves us back. That's worth cleaning up a little puke now and then.