No puppies were hurt during the writing of this post … that doesn’t mean I didn’t think about it. 😂

Sometimes… I WANT TO PUNT MY DOG SOMETIMES!!!

I soooo love my fur baby. But DAMN! Sometimes he can be soooo annoying!! He always wants to be pet at the most inconvenient times! While I’m driving… while I’m writing... while I’m trying to pee… Ahhh!! And if he barks one…more…. time… while I’m trying to concentrate to meet a deadline or while I’m on a call with a client… he might just get punted to the other side of the RV.

Have you ever had an experience like this? Maybe with your pet… your children… your significant other? AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Truthfully, it’s not HIS fault. After all, he is just a little doggie. The truth is… he has what we all strive for. He is purely present in the NOW: see a dog = bark, see an easy opportunity for momma to pet me = puppy dog eyes and gentle persistent nudging until she complies.

So then, why do I feel like I might want to send him sailing through the air?

Well… if I look at what’s going on in those moments… it’s because I am not present. Even worse… it’s usually because I didn’t do what I need to do in order to be present… specifically my self-care to “fill my cups”:
- Sleep (you don’t want to talk to me when I haven’t had a good night’s rest)
- Food (I’m pretty cranky when I haven’t eaten)
- Adequate time in my schedule to handle whatever may arise (I don’t like feeling rushed)
- and more….

I certainly don’t ACTUALLY want to punt my pup. I love him oh so very much. I would NEVER hurt him.

But in those moments when he's driving me nuts… when he’s annoying the crap out of me… I need to remember that truthfully… I’M the one that’s off. When I get mad at him I need to remind myself that it’s really just me being irritated with myself! That I failed to “fill my cups” ... to the point where him wanting to give and receive love would annoy me!

Instead of getting annoyed, irritated and frustrated... I just need to take a deep breathe… go do something to “fill my cups”… and resume life with puppies once again feeling free to happily nudge for petting while I pee.

I'd love to know... where has this sort of thing shown up in YOUR life? What is something that has happened today, or maybe yesterday, that perhaps caught you off guard.. had you notice that your cups weren't as full as you thought?