Let's Come Clean

I finally went to bed on Saturday after 13 grueling hours of cleaning that was pretty much non-stop.  Other than a brief stint to pull together a dinner,  it was a marathon session of dog hair and mud removal, all so a friend can come over today for about an hour before we went to the Pens game.  She will have no idea that my back was aching, my head is matching it throb for throb, and I was so exhausted that I sat in bed in my clothes because I was too tired to change.  It probably looked like a normal house to her.  One that might be neat enough, but not one where one would walk in and think that Mr, Clean lived there.  Because by the time she got here, even though every inch of it might be scrubbed, rubbed and vacuumed at that late moment in the day, a little dog dander and loose fur will have begun to make an appearance here and there.  All the clean smelling solvents I used Saturday will give way to the more typical doggy smell of my house, and, in short, within a few short hours, it was back to normal.  And it didn't help that I woke up only to step in dog vomit when I went to get my robe and realized that not only had someone gotten sick on the floor but both dog beds, which are still in the wash

I've noted the conundrum of dogs and dirt before, but of course, it's on my mind again because as hard as I worked yesterday, I just walked past a clump of accumulated dog hair on the floor, and at one point I looked down at myself during the game and realized my black corduroy pants were covered in dog hair, so it's hard not to obsess over it.

At end of every day my office rug looks like this

I literally finished mopping that floor five minutes ago!

Some of my great passions: dogs, Pittsburgh and keeping the place clean don't necessarily go well together.  Dogs are a natural enemy to a clean house anyway - particularly collies and their thick coats.  Join with it the mud they track in, particularly this time of the year, it's a challenge that I'm not sure I'd be up even if I didn't work full time.  Pittsburgh is one of the rainiest cities in the country.  More so than Seattle even.  True story.  So there's always mud and muck to contend with.   And of course, because I'm a Pittsburgh sports fan, almost my entire wardrobe is black.  So manufacturers of lint rollers make a mint off of people like me.

But, at the same time, I like things neat and clean.  And the more I'm stressed over things, the more that becomes true, and things being dirty or out of place become overblown in my harried mind.

So,  then one might wonder if I need to rethink having dogs in my life, or minimally why I have multiple dogs with long double coats.  Maybe a single greyhound is more my speed.  I'd like a greyhound actually, but, nah, for all the hassle, all the time spent looking to figure out where we left the lint roller last, I'm better for having my dogs than I would be without them.

Whatever your preferred breed, I bet you can say that your dog never lied to you, never cheated (maybe disobeyed you a time or two).  They don't need AK-15's or any kind of gun for that maybe,  nor do they build bombs and send them in the mail.   They protect us and keep me company at night - every night.  They're always there when I need them.  And while, yes, I could have chosen a different breed to love that's less hairy and less vocal, it feels good to bury my head in Sirius's fur when I need a hug and get lost in the feel of it, like a warm blanket.  I like their intelligence.  When I have a conversation with Rooney, I like how she looks at me like she totally gets what I'm saying (and maybe she does).

I came home from a meeting this past week a little down in the dumps because several others in the group have known one another for years, are from the area and have deeper roots here, and just have a camaraderie with one another that I lack at this point.  I felt like an outsider, and it left me feeling lonely.  It's good to have human friends - they can go to hockey games with you for one thing.  But dogs are the best of friends, so my besties are all around me now, and I feel complete.

So I still want you as my friend, but I think I just have to accept - and you will as well - if you come to visit, there will be some dog hair involved.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pick up the remnants of a stuffed toy off the carpet.

You don't follow the instructions anyway, do you?