Eye on the Prize

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the wonderful moment when I finally have a law degree, a job, and am freshly sanctioned to practice law by the Missouri Bar Association. I've been thinking about that golden age when I will be able to start real life. Real life = preparation is over and living has commenced. I'll save my musings on how weird it is that it takes roughly 1/4 of one's life to prepare for 2/4 s of one's life for a later time and for now will just say that I have been thinking about how I want a dog.

This is an odd thing, because I have always been particularly unfond of pets in general and dogs in particular. Lately, however, I've thought I might enjoy a very small dog. Small dogs have the benefit of making small messes and having small smells (two major pet deterrents in my opinion), and while I have always thought small dogs were generally extremely hyper, I have recently come to believe that temperment of the owner may have a lot to do with temperment of the dog. I am about as un-hyper as they come so this bodes well for pet ownership.

More peculiar perhaps is this sudden inclination to become a dog person. It is perhaps a sign that I am a bit lonley. A sign that, for the time being, I chose to ignore. I read somewhere that all single people should have a dog, because a dog makes you get up in the morning and no matter how you feel you have to take care of and be available for the dog. This rings pretty true for me nowadays. It's interesting to me that we often need others (human or animal) to keep us at our best. Many individuals are unwilling, unable or unmotivated to be at optimal levels only for themselves. As if we needed more proof that humans are social (political) animals.

Whatever the underlying reasons, I now find myself adding to the picture of my life in a way I never thought I would. Scary how these things sneak up on us.