~My Other Babies~

Sometimes, more often than not, I forget about my other babies.  I knew that when Rowen came along it was going to be hard balancing my time attention between him and Jack and Lola, but I don't think I realized how much it would pull at my heart every time they look at me with their sad eyes.

And I understand why they give me those eyes.  I was THEIR mom first.  Especially my Jack, Lola will take attention from anyone, but Jack has always been a momma's boy.  I have this picture of Jack in our kitchen, next to Rowen's first picture.  I think of all the pictures I took of Jack as a puppy, it is my favorite.  It was the first time Tara and I took him to spend a day at the beach, he wasn't a big fan of the ocean, but he loved the sand.

I think I keep this picture out where I will see it everyday to remind me that he was my first baby.  The most easy going, easy to train, smart little puppy, that was content to go with the flow and hang out with us wherever we took him.  For our small group in Charleston, he was everyone's puppy, there was always someone who wanted to cuddle him.  

And then we decided he needed a sister, very similar to the way we humans decide we want another baby.  Lola has always known that she is the little sister, and from the day we brought her home she has been the troublemaker, in as much a way as a golden retriever can be.  But even she sometimes wants my attention, over her dad's, and I remember she is my baby too.

When we brought Rowen home they were interested.  Not as interested as we thought they would be but curious as to who this new creature was.  As Rowen grows, their curiosity grows.  He smiles and coos at them and crawl their way on to the play mat and smother him with kisses.  Its then that I see all of my babies together and not a single one of them is trying to get my attention.

I really should be grateful that Jack still looks to me.  I know that some day soon, maybe when Rowen starts crawling, he will shift from being my dog to being Rowen's dog, and it will remain that way for the rest of his life.   I will still be his mom, but Jack will have a best friend in Rowen, who will always want to play, and always accept all of the sloppy kisses he wants to give.  I have to remember this on the days when Jack sits next to me and gives me the sad eyes to pet him because when he stops doing that I know I will miss it.

Lola on the other hand, will remain the only sissy for time being and give her affections to the highest bidder (she is kind of a snob like that).