Good Golly Miss Molly

With college tuition behind us and our boys settling into their careers, we have a bit of free time now, which means the possibilities are endless: Travel. Become wine experts. Sit in the recliner watching Netflix for as long as we darn well please. But somehow Tom and I decided we needed another challenge.

“Maybe it’s time to get a dog,” I said one night when one incredibly cute canine bounded across the TV screen. “I’m thinking it’s now or never.”

He didn’t agree or disagree, although he might have heard, “Look at that dog. Isn’t it clever?”

Then this happened: One month, I’m admiring the puppies of my college friend’s family dog breeding business on Instagram; the next, Tom and I are driving to Iowa to pick up a miniature goldendoodle. And now Molly, our two-month old, three-pound bundle of fur, has turned our world upside down.

In what universe did I think bringing an eight-week old puppy into our home at age 56 was a good idea? And in what cosmos did a 57-year-old husband agree to it?

Ours, apparently, and while we’re sleep deprived and covered in puppy slobber, we couldn’t be happier. Molly was bred by Rafter W Farms of West Point, Iowa, owned by my college friend Cindy Wellman and her husband Miles. It’s operated by their son, Tyler, 20, a junior at Iowa State who has been showing livestock competitively since age 8 and has a few Iowa State Fair championship banners hanging in their family home.

So Good Golly, Miss Molly, we’re adjusting to a new life. We’ve made friends with the staff at PetSmart. We’ve Googled phrases such as: “Why do puppies eat their poop?” Our new favorite product is Nature’s Miracle Advanced Severe Enzymatic Formula, a spray bottle of sunshine that eliminates odors – most of them.

We’ve rediscovered the backyard. We talk to our neighbors over the fence again. That thing about dogs lowering your blood pressure? I’m pretty sure it’s true.

And our boys? They’re taking it in stride. Matt is settled in and working in Chicago, happy that his mom is not obsessing over his every move. Jack is living at home until January and is a huge help, not to mention clearly Molly’s favorite household member.

“Matt and I always joked you guys would get a dog to replace us when we left,” he said. “We can’t believe you actually did it.”

Meanwhile, Rafter W Farms has puppies available and Molly wouldn’t mind sharing South County. They’re salt-of-the-earth, the Wellmans of West Point, and one of the finest families I know. Iowans tend to be like that. Is the state heaven? I have no idea, but I am pretty sure that the little Iowan who eats and sleeps in our home is heaven sent.

Originally appeared in the South County Times on Oct. 11, 2019.