Worry List

Every family has one. Unfortunately for me, I’m the worrier of the family.  It’s so frustrating that I worry about things even while I’m asleep. I don’t even have that much to worry about right now.  So I just make up things to be worried about. What if my alarm clock doesn’t go off, and I’m late for work? What if the dishwasher catches on fire during the dry cycle? Did I lock the side door? Did I lock the car? Did I lock the front gate so Sammy doesn’t get out? What if Sammy gets attacked by a wolf while she’s outside? Really? What if Sammy gets attacked by a wolf while she’s outside? That’s what I dreamt about last night. Why am I dreaming about wolves?  I’m totally team Edward, so wolves mean nothing to me, but nonetheless, last night in my dream I was too scared to let Sammy out of the house because of this fear…a completely unrealistic fear at that. If you’ve ever met our dog, you would know that NOTHING is going to get within 5 miles of our house, without her alerting the entire neighborhood by barking at it.  She has very distinct barks at that. I always know when she’s barking at my husband because she’s excited that he’s home vs. when she’s barking at the sweet kids in the neighborhood vs. when she’s barking/growling at those “other” kids in the neighborhood (Note: see “Entitlement” blog about the “other” kids in our neighborhood, and you’ll realize that we have the smartest dog ever. I think she can sense the road-blocking-egg-throwing-entitled kids from the cute hope-we-have-kids-like-that-someday kids). Regardless, I was so scared in my dream that she would be attacked that she received a life sentence as an inside dog. (Great. There goes the dream furniture, the dream paper towels, all of the dream blankets, and the occasional dream flip flop.)  

This worry of mine actually does have some realistic base to it.  Last week, she let out 5 minutes of strange, unusual barks.  I was sure she was just barking at the awful pit-bull neighbor that attacked her when she was a puppy (no, she has not yet forgiven or forgotten and neither has her mother), but when I looked outside, she was barking towards our shed.  Finally, and unfortunately, I realized a little too late what she was barking at.  I saw it lunge at her.  A panicked scream to my husband followed by a quick trip to the garage for a shovel, we had a dead cottonmouth on our hands.  Luckily, my poor baby came away unharmed. As for me, it’s just another item that I’m not adding to the list of things to worry about.