Dogs and routines.

Routines.  They're both annoying and comforting.  Unless you're really the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type.  And I'm not.  I don't like surprises.  I like know what's coming up ahead.  Guam is throwing me off.

When we first moved here people kept asking me 'How do you like it?' and I'd always answer 'I love it, but I can't wait to get into our house and get into our routine.' and I meant that.  When we first got here and everything was new and exciting, we did a lot of sight seeing, looking around and just general 'touristy' kind of things.  But I still craved a routine.  I missed waking up at a certain time, having tasks for the day and feeling like I was actually doing things.

Well, we moved in..  And I love our new house.  But I didn't realize how much of my routine depended on my dogs.  Yes, my dogs.  Like kids, my dogs take up most of my day.  I have  2 year old dog who is a hound.  She's pretty hyper, she doesn't always listen, she loves to chew but she's fun!  I also have a 10 year old dog who  is like my little shadow and thinks he needs all my attention all the time.  So juggling them both can be pretty tricky; but I love it.  And in between their walks, feeding times and playing with them I still have the laundry, cleaning, bill paying, cooking, errand running, etc to do.   But everything is pretty much set and planned around the dogs by 3 questions.  How much time will they be in their kennels? How long can I be gone before they need to go out?   Can I do what I need to do so they don't have to wait too long for their dinner?

But right now we don't have our dogs.  They haven't been flown to Guam yet.  So there is no need to get up right away to walk the dogs, we can stay gone all day, come and go as we please, etc.  There's 1/10th of the mess without them here.  Between their hair, their paws tracking in everything, the chewing of toys all up, slobbering on the couch, they keep me cleaning.  But without them, there's not much to clean.  Plus, the severe lack of furniture doesn't help.  Our house hold goods are still on their way here, so our house is pretty bare.

Sounds awesome, right?  No.  I'm bored most of the time.  Don't get me wrong, we're still exploring the island, finding out we really like snorkeling and having fun whenever we want and for some people that might be awesome, the whole not having anything limiting what you do and where you go and there for you're never bored.  But, I miss my dogs and I miss my routine.  I miss waking up at a certain time and spending all day with them.  They keep my life interesting and fun and they keep it in check.  Codi and I could still go out and go snorkeling, or take a drive a to see the mountains, or hang out on the beach.  We could even take the dogs to do those things.  But in the end, when I open the front door when we get home, there's no one to greet me on the other side.  And until then, I have no routine.

The good news?  We're hoping the dogs will be here in Guam within the next month!  And then everything will be normal and feel right again.  I can't wait.