heartbreaker

To answer your question, Em, yes my kids did fall asleep, and no I didn't fall asleep at the computer. I have been struggling with the fact that I am about to break some hearts. We brought home our new dog last Monday, August 27th. The kids were in love. Everything was great until we noticed a lingering smell. Not just a normal doggy smell, mind you. It was more offensive. We figured he needed a bath. He got one quickly. It didn't last long, and I'm talking hours. So, I began to research and ask questions. Turns out...scent hounds in general have an odor that emits from the oils in their coats. And, it turns out, there is not much you can do about it but learn to live with it. Unfortunately, I'm not really capable of doing that. To top it off, Jon's new job required him to go to Denver for 8 weeks of training. He left on Monday, September 3rd. Not only do I have a stinky dog who has to be inside because our backyard is not fenced, but I'm functioning as a single mom for who knows how long before I see him again. Not wanting to admit defeat too quickly, I'm also unwilling to "stick it out" in hopes that it will get better, only to end up doing what I knew I would do all along. What I'm saying is that I'm getting rid of our new dog. Calling the breeder tomorrow to see if she has anyone interested or wants to take him back to sell on consignment for us. I approached the subject with Derrick last night, and there have been tears in his eyes ever since. I'm afraid that his heart is actually broken. And it's my fault. The extra hugs somehow seem less sweet when they are comforting a sadness of my creating. I'm not sure when he'll get over it. I hope he forgives me.

On a happier note, things are going well with Jon's new job. I hope this one is a keeper. It's hard to be without him, though. We'll be glad to know what his schedule is going to be, because the next 2 months are kind of up in the air right now. I don't think I'll get around to sending out the more detailed email that I promised to a couple of you, so in case you're still wondering, Jon is going to work for Target again. They are building one here in town, and one thing led to another. Before we knew it, he was offered a position as the Executive Team Lead responsible for Asset Protection and Loss Prevention. He is excited because is it completely different than what he has been doing up to this point. It's nice because he doesn't actually report to anyone in this store, it is more of a district position. The salary offer was also 20% higher than what he was making. He gets to write his schedule, too, which a huge plus. It opens a lot of doors for him to branch in to the company beyond the retail side of things. I'm crossing my fingers that we've found a good match this time.

Time to run. Tropical Storm Clutter turned into Hurricane My House is a Disaster earlier today. I've got to pull it together. Then again, I have just enough grapefruit scented bubble bath left to calm my nerves before I officially break my son's heart tomorrow. Hmm...what to do.