Pawrenting 🐾 🐶 😊😍😘💁🏻‍♀️

 June 2021

Hubby’s sabbatical was progressing well - contemplating life ✅; focus on health ✅✅; adopting a puppy 🐶…. Hold on ! While I like dogs and have fond memories of our amazing German shepherd Fluffy while growing up, I am not one who can be categorised as an Animal lover. While Hubby continued to do copious research and showed me tons of puppy pics , status quo persisted until one adorable Golden retriever came along 🥰😍🤩. The pic instantly captured our heart and seeing his golden fur and cute snout, the name Simba spontaneously sprung to mind. We didn’t have too much time to get the house in order since Simba was arriving within a day of us choosing him. The day passed in a flurry of pet proofing, figuring out pet supplies & essentials… And our love of planning was reflected in Hubby reading so much information that one could easily apply for a PhD thesis 😉

Simba, our little ball of fur, joy and entertainment ☺️😆🤩

(Source: Author’s file photos) 

While I have never really pictured myself as a Pawrent, this phase has been the happiest in a long time, which also made us reflect on important aspects of life that were sidelined and ignored owing to various factors.

1. Keep life simple - Minimalism

While we had already embarked on a journey of Minimalism, pet proofing the house was a different revelation altogether. While we installed a puppy gate near the kitchen, mesh on the balconies among other things- the number of things we moved to other parts of the house and were still able to continue with our daily routine was mind boggling- a reflection of how we should always prioritise functionality when we purchase stuff. In case you want to learn more about Minimalism- Minimalists, Less is Now on Netflix ( https://www.netflix.com/in/title/81074662 ) is a good place to start. 

2. Socialisation galore - puppy and Us

Owing to lockdown and WFH for the past one year, while we have been striving to maintain relationships virtually (video calling et al), it slowly reduced over time. While we initiated the extremely important socialisation process for Simba, let’s say that we ended up having more fun catching up with everyone during visits (impromptu and scheduled), car rides and just enjoying the warmth and camaraderie. 

3. Being mindful and engaged- Focusing on one task without distractions

This I would say is by far my biggest learning. I have always taken pride in my time management skills and efficiency at juggling multiple tasks at the same time. In hindsight, I must admit that the last one year of working remotely with multiple modes of communication and increased calls, mails, WhatsApp & teams traffic amplified this to point of distractions. With Simba around, all that changed completely- spending time with him meant focusing solely on either food, play or activity - any another multitasking that I tried resulted in reprimand , either in the form of barking or nipping 😆. 

Btw this rule only applies to us, the less said about Simba’s attention span, the better 😝

4. Impetus for an active life: Boisterous pup = Active life ahoy! 

While I had made adequate changes in food and dietary habits (http://ac-catharsis.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-fussy-naysayers-take-on-healthy-food-d.html?m=1), an exercise regimen was not really on the radar. The WFH scenario unfortunately took away the usual exercise I used to get while travelling to work by train, or stepping out for small errands. With Simba being an extremely active, curious and boisterous pup, I needn’t have worried on that front - be it in the form of cleaning up after him, saving our furniture or walls ( there goes our rent deposit  💸 😂) or planning engaging games! Hubby has still maintained some semblance of exercise regimen, and is enjoying introducing Simba to outdoor activities, one puppy 🐾 paw at a time 😂😉. As Hubby says, while others do Zumba, we have Simba 🤣😝. 

And we all plonk down, this is the scenario for all three of us, exhausted 😴😅

While all this unconditional love, cuddling, grooming and training is an amazing way to bond and be happy; taking care of a pup is indeed a lot of hard work but rewarding as well. Make no mistake that being a Pawrent is not just posting instagram-able photos and uploading entertaining videos, but also investing time and efforts in potty training, training in general, figuring out best way to manage home, work and the little one! We have moved beyond the initial phase of sleepless nights, and are currently navigating the biting-everything-is-in-my-sight and barking back phase; yes you got that right, he is a strong minded boisterous pup whose excitement levels are above the normal level 😉 

Signing off with a quote that did not until recently resonate with me, cheers to Simba and many more moments of fun & frolic, madness and adventures 😍🤩😘

(Source: Google)