What do you do to unwind at the end of the day?
Some people watch television.
Some fill out a crossword puzzle.
Some eat that fat bowl of ice cream with Thin Mint cookies crumbled over the top because any jealous little eyes are off to dreamland.
Some people work out.
Some camp Pintrest or Facebook.
Personally, I like to read the pet classifieds on Craigslist.
They. Are. Hilarious.
Oh, yes.
Something labeled Fluffy needs a home PLEAZ! turns out to be a nine-foot boa constrictor in a sketchy part of town.
Or CHI-MALTI-DOXI-POO brothers are wildly creepy-looking, bug-eyed mutts that require $750 (because it’s illegal to SELL pets on Craigslist, so an outrageous “rehoming fee” is often applied).
People are nuts!
But the pet pics can be rather hilarious, and the ads can be rather clever.
So I read them.
There happened to be an entry for a border collie last week. I clicked on the link, and a normal (well, actually quite wonderful) dog’s smile popped up. He wasn’t a goofy face, so I moved on.
“Wait, wait!” Mr. Anonymous piped up next to me. He’d been looking at my screen.
“Nah,” I said. “There’s nothing funny about that one.”
“He was awesome though!” Mr. Anonymous was reaching for my keyboard.
“I’ll send you the link,” I replied, e-mailed it to him, and found a photo of some sugar gliders.
A few minutes later, Mr. Anonymous asked, “So what do you think? Should we call?”
WHAT?! I’d been reading about cat sisters reunited or something.
“Call who? I’m sorry; I don’t think I was listening.”
He pointed emphatically to his laptop. “This guy! He’s good with kids, middle-aged, knows some tricks, obedient, doesn’t run away… man, he seems COOL!” There was the border collie’s picture.
“Are you serious?” I asked dubiously.
“Yeah! He’d be awesome! The kids would love him! C’mon, don’t you want a dog again?”
His excitement was starting to catch on.
I took a deep breath. “Well, I DON’T want another dog like the last one. You know?”
He nodded grimly.
Ugh! The last one was a nightmare… and a menace… and just, well, it didn’t work out.
So we prayed about it, talked to the dog’s current owner, and set a time to pick him up the next day.
And, yeah, he’s cool. He’s enormous but very cool.
So now, we’ve got four kids and a dog the size of a truck (okay, not quite that big—but he’s close).
And you know what?
It’s good stuff.
Hope your week has lots of unplanned happiness!