how poppy is preparing me to be a mother.

When we got a puppy I was trying to fill some sort of void in my life.  I felt that Shane and I had all this love to give, but no baby to give it to.  We swore we wouldn't become those "crazy dog people".  We swore we would never let her sleep with us.  We wouldn't let her up on the couch and so on.  Here's the thing- she gave me one look with her puppy eyes and I was completely taken over.  She owns the house!  She takes up a lot of the bed and steals the covers.  We sometimes find that we have been playing with her for the past three hours.  She is just the best!
I know that she isn't my child, and that she isn't my offspring, but I love taking care of her.  She's made me more patient and given me a glimpse at what it's like to have something to take care of.  I just love her!