Arby & Me

Please note possible spoilers*****************
We went and watched Marley & Me tonight. It is now one of my top 10 movies! It really was funny to us because we could relate to everything in that movie. We got Arby about a year after we got married. Funny thing is that we got him from a shelter where they thought he was part Newfoundland. The flag we should have seen was that he was returned from the other family because he chewed a lot. Hah, we thought "but all puppies chew". Little did we know that he was actually Border Collie- which apparently need a lot of training. In the year we had him, he chewed one shoe out of almost every pair of mine, our speaker system, the flooring, the wall, and anything he could get his little paws on. One day while I was getting ready for work I found a sudafed package on the floor- he had eaten at least 4. My brother came over to check on him and had to practically push him out the door he was so sleepy. Oh the adventures of Arby. We reminisced on him over dinner- how he used to sleep under the bed or lay at our feet. How he used to steal 2 liters of pop off the counter and bring it into the living room to open it. (Wow, this really sounds like our dear son...I guess they do prepare you for kids!) Oh yah, BC's like to run a lot too...so if you let him off the leash- he's gone!

Then we got the bright idea that maybe he just needs some company....so we got Cody from someone who had found him and went to great lengths to find his owner. Hmmm, thinking now that the owner did not want to be found. He was even worse about chewing. One day we were down working on our house so we left the dogs in the fenced in part. When we came home Arby was there, but Cody had escaped. That dog could jump so high that apparently he catapulted himself over the fence. Oh he just wanted to be loved though- very cuddly dog. Shortly after we got him, we finished our house, but we decided it was not a wise move to have them inside. At one point I had them bordered in a section of the garage- to which they maneuvered out of somehow. Over the years, they have had several fenced in areas that we have created- to which they ALL have escaped from. My dad even tried rigging up an electric fence. At one point they were on the deck, but Cody decided to make a leap for it- and our deck is fairly high. There is no containing those dogs. I have lost count of how many times we have had to chase them down.

Oh and the beloved dog Snoopy- the one that barks ALL the time. How many times he has woke up the kids...just another Marley moment.

But when that day comes where Arby is gone...well, it will be a very sad day. He was our first- our beginning to a family. We used to take him everywhere. And Zander loves his Arby too. This summer he took his chair from the playhouse and set it over by Arby so he could sit there and talk to him. We've debated many times about giving the dogs to someone else, but it's really hard when it comes to him. Down deep, we still just love him and will truly miss him when he's gone.

I looked at Jennifer Anniston and Owen Wilson in the movie and it made me realize that we aren't those fun loving young couple that we used to be. I think it's something about having 2 kids too. When you actually become responsible for 2 little lives, you mature in ways you never thought of. Kind of like when Anniston said how they never prepare you for marriage, or parenthood, etc. You just don't realize how hard it actually will be- you're naive. Maybe that's a good thing or you might never have them. No, in all reality, our one child is a challenge almost every minute he is awake, but we can't imagine life without him. Another good point I liked was where Wilson said to his friend "Mend, don't end" when they were discussing his marriage. So many times couples just end it, so it was nice to see this emphasis. It was just nice to see a "real" family movie, instead of a "happily ever after".