For years, I was living in what could rightly be described as a Depressive’s Paradise. I had a beautiful garden level apartment that allowed in exactly two minutes of direct sunlight in the height of summer. With control over my heat (a luxury in the city) I was able to keep the temperature at a balmy 65, requiring the constant layering of mismatched pajamas. My two feline roommates enabled, or even encouraged, full day sleeping marathons. And I thought I was doing fine. I was “enjoying” my dark, cold cave.
But my shrink thought maybe there was more out there for me. He suggested I get a dog. So I did.
Did you know that dogs wake up really f*cking early? They wake up at the same time every day, look at you and say, HEY HEY! It’s MORNING. LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO!
Did you know that dogs don’t care if it’s cold outside? Or if it’s raining, or if it’s humid, or if there’s something really important happening on TV? They look at you and say, HEY HEY! It’s WALKING TIME. LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO!
The first major revelation I had after getting Frank Jr Jr is how many people are awake and out in the world before 8am. This sounds like a joke, but it’s not. I remember going to the park that first Saturday, around 7:30, and thinking, ‘My god! There is an entire world of things that I didn’t even know existed.’ This world that’s comprised of dog owners and baby owners and often both, all walking their dogs and babies in the park. Drinking coffee they made at home. Talking to their partners or friends who also have dogs and babies and coffee. And this happens every day. Every. Single. Day. While I was asleep underneath piles of orange cat, these people were throwing Chuck-Its and Frisbees and talking to each other.
Did you know that dogs don’t care if you don’t want to talk to anyone? They will run up to any random person and look at them and try and steal their ball, or successfully steal their ball, so you have to go over and say, ‘Hey, sorry about that’ and then you’re talking to a person when you specifically made up your mind that you did not want to talk to people today.
The sense of pride I feel when someone tells me how cute Frank is, frankly, absurd. But still, I beam with the light of 1,000 suns. Yes, he is cute. He is adorable. He pooped in the office, right in front of my boss this morning, but still he is unbelievably cute.
We moved. We moved to an apartment six stories up, with windows that frame the sunrise (HEY HEY! Look! SUN’S UP! LET’S GOOOOOOOOO!). I bought a coffee maker – one that drips the coffee directly into my stainless to-go cup. We live in a world of the AM. With dogs, and babies and made-at-home coffee.
I am now living in Frank’s Paradise – and I’ve gotta say, it’s pretty awesome here.
note: I wrote this in March of 2017, in celebration of Frank’s adoptaversary. Since this was written, we have swapped apartments and parks but the rest remains the same.
thoroughly modern molly 