Transferred from my old blog: On being replaced

January 5, 2004

My parents bought a puppy just before Christmas. I've wanted them to get a puppy for years, but they always refused. They wanted a puppy, they just couldn't commit to it. They thought it would be too hard on a dog because they travel quite a lot. Mum didn't want her good furniture to be chewed. Dad wasn't sure if they would have enough time to take a dog for walkies. They didn't think they wanted to go through all of the puppy training stuff ... Excuses excuses excuses.
I left home about 5 months ago, and they decided to get a puppy. Its not that they travel any less, or that the furniture wants to be chewed now, or they have more time for walkies. They just wanted to have another face in the household, since both my sister and I are now living far far away from Sydney. So 10 week old Lucy arrived in December. She is an English Staffordshire Bull Terrier. A gentle and people loving breed of dog. With a very waggy tail.
Part of me is slightly miffed that they waited until I had gone to get a puppy, since they know how much I always wanted a dog. Now when call home, all I get is stories about Lucy, and how cute she is. But mostly I'm happy that they finally got a dog, and they can stop talking about how nice it would be to have a dog, but don't really have time.
I ask "How are you Mum?", and she'll say something like "Oh, Lucy was helping me hang the washing on the line, and she ran off with the clothes pegs in her mouth. She's so cute!". So I don't find out how mum is - but I know she wouldn't have found it so cute if I had run away with the clothes pegs.
"What's the weather like Dad?". Dad will say something like "When Lucy sleeps, she sticks her tongue out. She's so cute!".
If I were to say "Oh, I wish I could see Lucy. Maybe you could email me some photos", He'll say "Oh, I'll try and send some photos soon. We're a bit busy playing with Lucy right now. She's so cute".
When I finally do see Lucy (maybe I'll go back to Sydney for my graduation in a few months), she probably won't be a puppy anymore.
On the upside, I've noticed that since my parents got Lucy, they haven't asked me in ages, about when I'm planning to get married and reproduce.