I slept in yesterday after being awake until 5:30 in the morning. My sleep schedule is incredibly messed up thanks to the stress I’ve been under lately. Because of that, I went to the doctor yesterday to get something to take care of that and get me back on track. I explained everything that’s happened over the past week or so and she was very sympathetic. She gave me some medication to calm me down. Naturally, I forgot to take it last night, so I ended up staying awake until 4:00am. Whoops.
After driving all the way into Arlington to go to the doctor, Mom and I decided we needed to do something fun. On the way back home we stopped at Sweetwater Tavern in Merrifield for some happy juice (aka root beer). I was really hungry because I hadn’t felt well enough to eat breakfast. I managed to eat two thirds of that massive cheeseburger and left with a full stomach, a happier disposition, and an even greater appreciation for the wonders of root beer. You know, I really think that stuff may be the cure to the common cold – I had a really sore throat yesterday, and after two glasses of root beer, my throat didn’t feel quite so scratchy! 🙂
Root beer aside, I still wanted some cheering up. I made a comment once we were back in the car that I’d been wanting to play with a puppy for a while, and that there should be some kind of place where worried teenagers could go and play with puppies for a while. After all, there are dog therapy organizations for toddlers and old people, so why are teenagers left out? I’d imagine a nice cuddle with a furry little puppy would do wonders for teenage angst.
Mom said that she knew of a place where I could go play with some puppies. Apparently there’s a pet store in Reston that actually has a bunch of different animals. I was excited about this for two reasons; first, in the day and age of chain pet stores a la PetSmart, it’s rare to find a small pet store that actually has animals larger than a guinea pig. Second, puppies! Mom agreed to drive me there because it was sort of on the way home, but not really, but she agreed a puppy might make me happy.
Once the car was parked safely in the parking lot, I felt thoroughly like a child, and in order to fully embrace the moment, I skipped (literally) across the parking lot in order to join the other children who had their faces pressed against the glass, adoring the puppies. It was great! They had little yorkie terriers, long-haired dachshunds, jack russels, and *gasp* huskies! I was in puppy heaven. I went right inside and asked to hold a girl husky, but unfortunately all of those were sleeping. Instead they pulled a jack russel out of its cage for me and I played with that one for a while. In true form, it was incredibly wiry, hyper, and skiddish looking. She was good fun, though. But eventually, my Mom called to me and said the huskies were awake!
The jack russel was put back in its cage and I was handed a very chubby boy husky. He was dark black all over except for little white paws, and white marks on his face that were perfectly symmetrical. He even had two white patches above his eyes that made him look like he had Groucho Marx eyebrows. But you want to know the best thing about him? He was cuddly. I set him down on the floor and he wandered around for all of a minute, then came right back to me, sat down with his body against my legs, and looked up at me. I cuddled with him for a while but eventually his cuteness attracted two young girls who wanted to play with him too. The girls and I petted that dog until I thought for certain he’d had enough. They mashed on him, hugged on him, loved him to the point of smothering, and he still just sat there patiently.
I want a dog like that. That’s the downside to puppy therapy – now I really, really want a dog. And that’s just not going to happen any time soon. But especially now I want a big, burly dog. It’d be a walking, barking alarm system and body guard. I think a husky would be perfect for that, don’t you? 🙂
After puppy therapy, Mom and I had to come home to get ready for my brother Kevin’s birthday party. A friend of mine – the Texan – joined us for dinner, cake, and presents. It was a nice party. Kevin showed us pictures from his various trips to France and Texas, but eventually Kevin and his family had to go home because it was past Max’s bedtime. The Texan stayed to play Settlers of Catan with my brother, my Dad, and I. I’m seriously addicted to that game. Actually, it’s time to end this blog, because my Mom just asked me if I want to play it again. Tomorrow I think I’ll head back out to the puppy place, get my puppy fix, and then I should be good to go for the rest of the week. 🙂