Put Your Money Where Your Dog Is

Everyday I wake up and scamper downstairs to the garage to release the hounds. Out they go, Emma first and then Gracie, her back legs bouncing down the driveway to start the day. These pups are bona fide members of the family as if we shared a blood line. I find I am one of those folks who refers to her dogs as her "kids" and is tempted to answer in the affirmative when asked "And do you have children?" right before I break out the pics of my smart, gorgeous, talented pooches.

Each day I laugh at some antic or another or just at their cuteness, lying on the couch curled together seamlessly, their deep snores in unison. These two adopted balls of fur provide hours of entertainment and cause my heart to nearly burst when they accompany me on my daily tasks around the house. Did you know my shadow looks a whole lot like a beagle - one who sits patiently and watches as I perform mundane chores like folding laundry or combing my hair?

Lately, it occurs to me that this is why people breed. I bet real human kids bring joy to a mother's heart in much the same way. This may seem like a trite sentiment coming from a mature thirty-something, but it is not meant that way. I am stone-cold serious. This feeling I get when my eyes well up with love for my dogs is new and exciting and not something for which I was prepared. To be honest, I have heretofore dwelled solely on the negatives of child-rearing (not to mention the birthing process itself - yikes!) Could it be that all the rhetoric is true? Could the maternal instinct rear its ugly head, even for the self-proclaimed forever childless by choice?

Gosh, it's a concept I have only toyed with briefly in my head. It is as outside my realm of reality as my picture on the cover of Time magazine - or so I had convinced myself. But, my birthday is fast approaching (well, in about three months' time anyway) and that is the crucial decision-making hour in my life: each year, on my birthday, I re-evaluate my non-procreation to determine if that is still my preferable course of action for the next year. So far, so good - consistency is key, so they say, and I have found many good reasons (and some iffy ones which were counted in my column nonetheless) to stay the course.

Could things be changing? Will my husband have a heart attack - literally - were I to come to an alternate conclusion this August? If I was a betting woman I would put my money on things staying much the same.

But you know, I never did like gambling that much anyway.