My Beagle Doesn't Want Me to be a Writer

My beagle, Alice, doesn't want me to be a writer. Specifically, she appears to be opposed to my blogging. Which, amuses me considering I named her after one of my favorite authors, Alice Walker.


Alice is three months old now. She is pretty simple, in fact. Things you can expect from her include three hour naps, spurts of high energy, lots of drinking, lots of eating and lots of excrement. Don't forget the chomping. As near as I can tell, she is really into this and somehow thinks that it is ok to attempt to perfect her skill. She chews on everything - dresser knobs, kitchen rugs, couch edges, chair legs, bedroom trashcan, Garrett's weights, my fingers - everything! We are training her but this takes time and is often very difficult with such a young pup. We provide her with chew options (lots of toys), bark out the suggested "NO!" and praise her immensely when she does what we ask of her. Yet, her chomping persists.

So shortly after my Friday blog when my husband followed Alice to the living room to find this, I wasn't too surprised.

This is the exact magazine that inspired me for my first blog. Poets & Writers is actually a perk given to me by my scholarship back at USC, the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund. Its purpose was to do exactly what it did - inspire. And I was really feelin' this particular issue. When Garrett presented me the fiasco, I had to laugh and hard.


Since Alice arrived, I have been attempting to get this blog together. It took me an inordinate amount of time to settle in to being a new mom to a little pup. I found it quite difficult to do anything when she was awake. I had been complaining that my life was on hold until she was trained. As a recent graduate and new wife, I am constantly asked, "So what are you doing now? What are your plans? Are you writing?" My consistent response refers to my amazement as to how much I can manage to not achieve when left to my own devices. Between working out and tending to Alice, washing the laundry and washing the dishes, I felt a sudden connection to the housewives of the world. One minute you are getting up at 5:30am to meet your trainer and a few minutes later you look at the clock and it is time to go to bed. Ugh.


Having finally achieved my blogging goal and feeling all cozy in my writers nook, I had to laugh at Alice's well-intentioned proclamation. There was my muse, my inspiration lying on the floor greatly assaulted and evidently shredded and bruised. Why would my little green gas emitter do this to my magazine? Did Alice somehow know that when she was put to napping that I was in my nook typing? Did she despise the magazine for taking time away from her? Was this jealousy? Or was this just a really inviting chew toy? I am thankful that it was not my laptop lying there this way - cold, wounded and shaking.


Regardless, the pup has spoken. She is demanding of my time, which interferes with the creative process. She has destroyed the evidence of my inspiration for the first blog, however, in doing so, has created inspiration for the third. I love her still. I will continue to write and blog. And, I know that we will continue to fight about this. A compromise is imminent and, yet, I have a feeling that this won't be the last we hear from Alice Lucille. No sir, not the last at all.