Mary’s favorite posts: 2023

Sifting through a year’s worth of posts to find a favorite one is hard. We covered a ton of topics this year, all of which I am rather proud of, as they’ve had a positive effect on me and how I parent as well. But for 2023, my favorite post is Coffee Chat: Dogs are like kids, right?

When I wrote this, we were fostering a young black lab mix named Roxie for 3 months. Naïve to the pet rescue game, I thought it was going to be a walk in the park. I had established a rhythm with my kids and the flow of the house was at its optimal. How hard could this be, simultaneously raising littles and a pup in training? HA!

Despite its initial hardships, having Roxie around helped me become a better parent. Training her helped me recognize some things about myself and areas that needed improvement, like my clarity of boundaries or maintaining a calm confidence. I’d let my emotions get the better of me at times but Roxie taught me to be more patient and to be in the moment. She showed me every rambunctious mess that occurs in the home is worth the cleanup if everyone had a good time. She also taught me to take a break every now and then and go for a walk or throw a ball around to collect my bearings or reorg my thoughts.

Roxie eventually found her forever home with a wonderful family this past June. We miss her, but we won’t forget her. We still reminisce about all the memories we shared with her for those 8 months.

Fostering a pet isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. The lessons I gained from fostering a pup will stay forever, in parenting and in life. Hope you enjoy the post!