We'll call it my Arizona

When I was about 10 years old my family moved to Arizona. We planned to live with my uncle while my parents got jobs and found a place to live. Well two weeks later we were on our way back to Utah. My mom likes to call it "the time we went on vacation with our furniture." I don't remember much about our 2 weeks in Arizona other than it was very hot, I passed out a few times and living with my uncle's family was not so fun. So in my young mind these were the reasons for our move back. Now that I am an adult I realize that there were probably much more adult and substantial reasons for our departure.

Fast forward (almost) 20 years; Ben and I decide to get a puppy. We had high hopes and grand visions of what this puppy would mean to Joseph. Well hopes and visions do not always become reality and sometimes you have to turn back, furniture and all and say, for what ever reason, we just aren't ready for Arizona (or a puppy).

I am sure you can see where this is going...

We have decided that we are not ready for a puppy. Our intentions were good but sometimes rather than forcing something to work that clearly isn't, it is best to say "we made a mistake." This becomes much tougher when emotions are involved and this has been a tough decision for us to make. And I am sure there are people out there who will say that having a puppy or living in Arizona for only 2 weeks is not enough time to make a rational decision. To those people I would say, sometimes you just know when to quit even if your ego is a little bruised.

So today we say so long to shivers. He is going to a loving home with 2 older girls and built in pet friends. I will admit that I shed some tears but I still feel like this is the right decision.

So what have I learned:
1. It's ok to try new things
2. It's ok to make mistakes
3. It's ok to get attached to animals
4. If you change your mind about something you have always thought (I mean a total 180) then it might be in your best interest to think about that change of heart for more than 24 hours before making a decision. Or if you have said for the last 10 years you would never have a pet then one night decide maybe that is an option, do not buy a puppy the next day!
5. If you do decide to do something spontaneous, have fun with it while it lasts...if you never go out on a limb, you will never reach the fruit!
6. Don't take your self so seriously...this is a lesson that I have to relearn way too often, but between 3 kids, my husband and a short stint with a puppy, I will eventually learn this lesson.
7. While our kids may not understand all of the reasons for this decision, hopefully they will understand we did what we thought was best for all of us.

There you have it MY ARIZONA!