Take that Oven!

The oven recently ate my knife. Ate it like a trash compactor, letting it fall between the kitchen counter and self without hesitating for a chance to snatch it back. I watched, like a slow motion horror flick.
"Damn." Orion looked up from his spot on his bed. "I'm never going to get that back and I had like a SET and everything." His head drops back down.
Tonight however, after a half hour of washing dishes, I'm grumpy. I'm feeling pissed off that I have a set of silverware that is no longer complete because of the stubbornness of the stove.
"Okay." I peel off a layer of clothes. Start to pull off the next shirt but pause as the neighbors would have a clear shot at me and I knew this was to be anything but flattering.
"Let's do this pal."
I crouch down and start by pulling out the stove drawer. Out comes dust, loads of trash, evidence of cockroaches and, "HEY! Orion! Would you look at that! It's you're nylabone from when you were a puppy!"
I reach my hand in and scoop out the little white bone. I thought this long gone. I get up, "NO!" I say pointing to the contents beneath the stove. I don't care if there's kibble mixed in, all the poison's that have been going around my apartment I didn't want the risk.

*** To be continued due to falling asleep ***

Night

I slide my feet into my sandals, tuck my wet head into the knitted rainbow hat sitting in the laundry basket by the door. My flannel pajamas stick to my dry skin. I reach for the blue vest that has become a staple in my wardrobe since acquiescing it in New Hampshire. Orion wanders up and I catch his collar with the leash, also found in the laundry basket--positioned next to the karate belt, a good substitute if there is a midnight outdoor run.
"Come on sweetie, let's do one more pee break."
I push open the door and the night air hits me in a woosh. My breath puffs out in front of me. Orion tentatively steps across the frosting grass, his feet sounding like footfalls on dry leaves. Crunch. Crunch. We walk down the sidewalk to where it ends and mosie onto the grass. I look up and see Orion's belt shinning strong in the night sky.
"There you are Orion--your namesake."
A plan cuts across the hunter of the night sky and I watch my breath curl in front of me. The horizon is purple and orange with the lights from the city. I am thinking of a card my friend wrote me about how the stars make one dream. What are my dreams now? I wonder. For so long I have felt the investment in such became such a precarious balance, better first to be sure of my footing again.
"Come on Orion. Inside we go."

Cans in the rain.

It's six thirty am. We walk outside to the pouring rain and the dark sky of an early fall morning.
"Go pee Orion," I say, making sure to hang on to his leash so he doesn't attempt to eat the cat poo from yesterday.
"Hey!" a voice calls into the rain.
I look up, around, across the street my eyes land on a short black guy with a Boston Red Sox hat on.
"Hi!"
"You dog, he pees like a girl."
I look at Orion squatting in front of me.
"Yeah. He does."
"When he grows up he'll pee like a man."
"I suppose so." The guy is poking through the trash.
"You looking for cans?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'll go get you mine." I loop back inside to collect my recyclable bag.
Orion and I cross the street. Orion attempts to kiss the guy's face. It's still dark. It's still rainy.
"He's just a little guy."
"Yep. Just shy of a year."
"He has room to grow."
"That he does. He's suppose to get up to 90 pounds."
"Yeah. Sure thing. What's his name?"
"Orion. Like the constellation in the sky. Yours?"
"David."
"Well hi David. I'm Molly." Quiet pause. Rain's dripping off my hat.
"Well we're going back in."
"Thanks for the cans."

helper

art

Tonight Orion and I are having an art overnight party. He may not realize this yet, but it's always much better to stay up all night making art with someone as company. In high school I had my buddies, Andrew & Joachim; in college, there was always someone in the studio with me; grad school? Well my roommate slept while I worked so I felt she was at least there... and then well, then I didn't really make art for awhile so here we are... I polled my friends in my brain--who would want to stay up till like 2 making art? Or watching me make art? Yeah. I got zero. So Orion's enlisted. I gave him a bone for signing up. He seems sold. He's currently chewing away with happy abandon at the bottom of my bed as I move my art studio to the kitchen (more counter space).

This morning he did show up in the kitchen with a tube of brown acrylic paint. "How nice Orion. I guess the gate's not up?" And then BOLT. His favorite game. What he doesn't know is I weigh more and so far have longer legs. Bring it fur-ball. I snagged his hips. Works every time. That or chase him to the living room because he picks up speed and can't stop on the wood floor and inevitably ends up sliding like a baseball player to second and I pounce. I have to admit, the one time he slid into the coffee table which then caused the box fan to fall (it was on top of the table) which then caused the table to move closer to the window which knocked a book to the floor, the whole commotion causing such a racket the boy was startled further and still couldn't get traction.

So, art night it is. I'll post outcomes later.

Orion said he would show what he creates as well.

Dunkin's it is...

I wake up to a plastic golf club hitting me in the head, followed by a whining yellow labrador.
"What?!"
More whines.
"Ug. What time is it??"
I fumble around alongside the crevice formed between the mattress and bed, search for my cell phone.
"4:41? Orion it's daylight savings time. Go drink some water and entertain yourself. I'm sleeping in."
Twenty minutes later I'm getting a spit bath and I grumble, try for the pillow over my head and give up.
I roll out of bed, a challenge Orion sees as "see if I can eat her toes while she reaches for her glasses" (top blind on my curtain). Then out stumbling to the kitchen, I note the fact my hair must be straight up in the air as I feel a sense of motion with every step, like the tide, in then out, in then out, forward, then back, forward then back.
Propping open the fridge, I sit on the floor. Orion's nose is eye level.
"We have no milk."
Whine.
"Huh. What should we eat for breakfast?" I look at him. He looks excited as if specifically I'm asking him to select a choice from the fridge not just for me, but for his delightful first meal of the day.
I grab the bag of carrots, grab his coffee cup, and lumber to the bathroom to fill it with the kibble stashed in the linen closet.
Sure enough hair is straight in the air.
"Rockin'."
Dog bowl full, I slide to the floor to land on his bed watching him eat while I toss carrots in the mouth. Eventually he joins me and I pass off a couple of the off tasting ones.
"It'd be real great if we had a dunkin's in walking distance."
Pass him a carrot.
"Well why don't we go up to Hyde Park then stop at Starbucks on the way home, grab a coffee and scone?"
He agrees.
Moments later we're jogging down the stairs to the car and on our way managing to stretch it out till 6:30 when the light seemed to be turning from moonlight to gee-I-think-I-can-see light. And then, as we're driving down the last street, about to reach our destination, my eyes light up. Could it be? I see a glowing sign at the Shell station "DUNKIN DOUNUTS"
"OH MY GOSH! ORION DO YOU SEE THAT??!!"
I grab my phone, dial my mother, "MA! I can't believe it but they put a Dunkin's five minutes from my house! It has a giant cup on it and everything!" Her answering machine didn't hold my enthusiasm. We tear a u turn and pull up to the drive thru. I pop up my change drawer (also known as the Dunkin Shrine drawer, with coupons and maps to all the locations in Cincinnati, dead gift cards you name it)
"What are you drinking?" The male voice calls out.
"Oh I have a coupon for.... And can I just say how happy I am you're here? I'm from New England and I'm just THRILLED. Oh and can I have a single munchkin for my 10 month old labrador?"
We pull around, I bond with the drive thru guy who's from New Hampshire's sea coast, get my coffee, get my egg and cheese croissant, and we pull away.
"Orion, you can wake me up any day if we discover a new Dunkin's...."
And on we went for our walk.

fall

exhaustion

He only stops moving when I'm washing the dishes.
I'm RE-washing dishes.
He is lying for the first time in four hours, peacefully on his bed. Nevermind I tried a bone, a bone in a kong, a trick toy, time outside where I laid in the fall leaves and he sprinted around me until one of his crazy loops wrapped his leash around the tree and he snapped his leash in his enthusiastic run back to me... He needs day care like a crack addict needs some crack. I'm just going to bring him to his buddy Oliver's house. The scabs healed. Yeah, so technically the staple's still there but he's nuts. He needs some intervention.
I've caught him TWICE up on the table.
Sigh. I have the lights out hoping he'll get the hint it's snuggle time. But no, he just ran in from the kitchen with my wool sock in his mouth, proud as proud can be.
As if I wasn't tired from the day at work anyways... damn lucky he's cute.
Did I mention he ate poop while we were outside too?

Moments

I walk out of the bathroom, after spending some time examining my skin for more spots.
Rounding the corner I look up.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!"
He looks at me, standing proud on top of the table.
"GET OFF OF THERE!"
He hops down.
No harm done right??

Sick call

"Hi Molly, this is Carrie, from The Pet Spot."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I was just calling because we just brought Orion up from daycare."
Oh geez, what'd he get in to...
"Because he has a hole in his shoulder..."
Great, finally pissed off a dog enough he got chewed on..
"It doesn't look like a dog bite, because those are usually triangular..."
Hum, could my missing razor have done that?
Me: "Ok.."
Should I go pick him up?
"We wanted to see if it was okay if we just ran him up to the vet, because it is a hole."
Damn. What am I working tomorrow? The vet's already closed today.
"Is he bleeding?"
"No, but we didn't think it should go un looked at; I could have a tech bring him down, and it's covered up to $500 dollars as a part of day care..."
Oh, how nice. Maybe I don't have to sort anything out then.
"How's he seem?"
"Totally fine. Could care less."
Yep. That's my dog.
"Sure, that'd be great."
"And I'll give you a call afterwards to let you know how it went."
Fantastic, what good customer service.
"Great, thank you for calling."
I am now officially a parent.