Thats right! My sister Jenna became a mommy this weekend. We got her an adorable puppy for her birthday. The poor thing is only two pounds but has three last names: Darcy Bennett Weight. Named after Jane Austen characters. Mostly I just call her puppykins!

I’m usually more of a “dog so big it could eat small children” person, but Darcy’s tiny ewok-like face and playful prance, and enthusiasm for giving me kisses and snuggles has won me over. My mom is living out her grandma fantasies and I’m living out my aunt fantasies and no one has to get fat or breastfeed or change any diapers! Since Jenna works all day I get to puppy-sit, and Darcy snuggles up in my bathrobe or in my bed or on the couch and sleeps most of the day while I job search and Wii fit, and then we play catch and wrestle and run around the house. We all watch and clap and cheer in high-pitched voices when she goes wee wee on the potty pad. Its quite cute.

I never thought I would be so smitten with a tiny dog creature. Shes a morkie, half Maltese half Yorkie, but she just looks like a teddy bear. She’s so cute you almost have to avoid direct eye contact or you will melt. She has this dinosaur toy she likes to make out with, and we put little bells on her collar (pink with flowers, obviously) so we can hear her because she’s so tiny she disapears all the time to do naughty things like chew on my stepdads speaker cords. hee hee. and go poopies. Yes we’ve adopted that annoying baby puppy talk, where everything becomes two octaves higher and plural and ends in a question mark and we all refer to ourselves in the third person, for example:

“”oh did darcykins miss aunt rachel while she was gone?! i misses you toooo!!! have you had your lunch yet? oh why are you so cute?! aunt rachel just can’t stand it!! do you have to go potties?! oh i loves you so so much!!!””

but it cant be helped. its so little and fluffy and fits right in the nook of your neck. i totally understand why couples get pregnant or puppies to save their relationships. this little ball of fur has brought the whole family together in a new exciting way. we all sit on the floor and watch it try and yank stepdaddy’s tie off, or chew my stepsister’s shoes, or climb in my mom’s hair, and clap and giggle at puppy’s antics. We’ve bought it all kinds of treats and toys and yes, guilty of buying some clothes…which i swore I’d never do….but it is an amazing thing to have a dog in the house again. Their love is so unconditional, and they’re always in a good mood.

I feel like Darcy’s happiness is inspiring me to be a better person, or spread more joy. I want to start an organization that brings puppies to sick people or old people or terrorists or orphans to hold for a little bit. Is that already invented? It sounds vaguely familiar. Dangit. All my good ideas are already someone else’s good ideas. Like that one time I reinvented the thermometer.
Well, if anybody ever needs some puppy love, call me and I will bring her over for a visit. Everything seems better and the world a little brighter with Darcy puppykins in my lap.