It was actually morning. When I got out of the shower, there she was in the kitchen staring up at me with those big puppy eyes looking up from a hole in the wall she’d just chewed through. I’ve seen that look before. Like when two year old Natalie spilled an entire In-N-Out strawberry shake on Dave’s office conference table. Or when four year old Meagan opened a shaken can of soda in Dave’s car.

My third child is now a toddler. Today she’s seven months old so about three in dog years. What would even possess a dog to think a wall would be tasty? It’s paint and sheet rock. Then again, I caught Natalie gnawing on our window sill when she was three. I do feed my children, really I do. In my defense, I thought Miles was done with teething since she’d lost all her baby teeth. All I can say is good thing I caught her when I did or she might’ve chewed all the way down to the stud. Pretty sure our home warranty won’t cover that.

So off we went to fetch spackle at Lowe’s but first some extra strong drive-thru coffee for moi. Miles enjoys Lowe’s and Home Depot. Probably since she’s actually allowed in those stores and employees love to say hi. Our last trip was a few months ago to buy plants. She rode proudly on the flatbed cart as I loaded up on shrubs and soil.

The last time I bought major home improvement supplies was over a decade ago when I thought I’d fill in two holes – 5′ x 4′ specifically. Yes, feet, not inches. Okay, they were actually decorative openings in a two-story wall meant to provide an open concept feel between the formal living room and family room. A very nice aesthetic feature especially since you could see directly through to the backyard when you entered the house. However, two giant holes in a massive wall are not great for sound insulation or maximum surround sound effect which is kind of a big deal to husbands who like to blast the sound for football games and spy movies. Guess what I endeavored to do as Dave would be away on a three day business trip? Fill in those two holes! I mean, how hard can it be? Home Depot will even custom cut wood and sheet rock for you! So while the kids were at school and Dave was away, I set out on a DIY project that would be the best coming home surprise ever!

Without YouTube videos or googling, I measured precisely and managed to install two very sturdy mini-walls. In fact, if there was ever a major earthquake (being in California and all), the safest place to shelter would be next to these two walls I’d built. It wasn’t that hard and only took an afternoon. Next day I headed back to Home Depot for wall texturing supplies. Hmm, lots of very different options. I decided I should consult with an expert in that department. In retrospect, I should’ve clued in when the employee they sent me said it was his first week on the job as we both took turns reading the directions on the buckets of wall texture. Still oozing pride from the stellar job I had done the previous day, I went with the spray on cans of wall texture completely expecting to knock this one out in an afternoon then finish up with paint the following day in time for Dave’s arrival. PSA: don’t buy spray on wall texture.

I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but basically five more trips to Home Depot, countless buckets of wall texture, and loss of all patience and sanity later, the two 5′ x 4′ openings were filled. That’s about the only way to describe the finished product because it was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. The look on Dave’s face further confirmed this. To his credit, he was very sympathetic and appreciative of my attempt. Being in the home building biz, the next day he carefully, gently, tactfully asked if he could bring in his guys to “smooth out the rough spots.” Umm, I think you mean “fix it” to which I promptly replied with great relief “YES!”

I can laugh about it now, but when Dave’s texture and paint guy arrived for the initial estimate, he took one look and said “Wow, this is baaaaad!” Dave had not told him I did it all by myself.

Okay, so the hole in the wall from this morning wasn’t as bad as that experience. In fact, it put things in perspective. You could even say it filled in some holes for how I’d been feeling lately.

This morning’s trip to Lowe’s was my first time inside a store in awhile. Been doing mostly online ordering and curbside pick up lately. The minute we stepped inside Lowe’s, we were greeted by some very friendly employees. As I made my way to the spackle aisle, not only was I grateful this visit did not involve gallons of wall texture, but also that I got to briefly talk to other human beings. Live. In person. Masks on, of course.

I’m constantly amazed and amused by the attention Miles attracts. Puppies in general are people magnets as are babies – neither of which I’ve had in a very long time. In many ways, getting Miles this summer filled some holes during this season of my life. We had made the emotionally difficult decision to move to Indiana earlier this year. Sheltering in place and moving away from family and friends in NorCal make for some lonely days. Miles has been an answer to prayer – even ones I didn’t know I was praying. Of course, God knew.

You learn a lot about yourself through a puppy. You also need to establish new personal disciplines. A puppy “forces” new habits like waking up earlier, walks every day, and stopping to chat with strangers who want to pet your doggo. Don’t get me wrong – I wasn’t unfriendly or reclusive before we got Miles. But I don’t think I’m the only one these days who can go days and sometimes weeks without seeing another human (other than Dave). And then when you actually run into someone, you realize how nice live interaction is or how you took it for granted before. So it was kinda fun to have a little crowd gather around Miles in between aisles 7 and 8 at Lowe’s this morning. The interior design consultant came over and asked to pet Miles. They hit it off right away. She said she needed this as she was having a rough morning. I didn’t want to put her on the spot and ask why but quietly prayed for her as we left the store.

I realized on the drive home that I really missed this. Running into people. Hearing about their stuff. Listening to the ups and downs. Asking if I could pray for them. You can’t get that from online ordering. I few times I actually tried to start up conversation with the online chat help box folks (Geico, Chewy, Wayfair). FYI, they’re trained to stick to the script.

Ironically, it’s become too easy to sit back and NOT do the very things we were created to do: worship God and fellowship with one another. Honestly, the motivation’s just not there for a lot of things (yes, even running). I wasn’t going to put up our Christmas tree – the giant ten foot tree we’ve had since the girls were toddlers that I hauled out here in my mini Cooper from California. Honestly, I would not have put it up except that Natalie, Meagan, and their fiances were coming out here for Thanksgiving week. You know what? Of the five other houses this tree has been in, it looks the best in this house. This same light up star topper we’ve had for over twenty years has served as my daily reminder to look up in an attitude of worship and praise to Jesus, the light that shines brightest in the darkest of times. I also wasn’t going to do any exterior lights or festive decor but was inspired to do so by my neighbors and one particular Facebook friend’s post as she recently had a difficult post-cancer surgery:

“Update on my surgery: Everything went great on the 16th and I was able to come home the same night. My wonderful friend came and helped me recover as it was a tough one. SO many bandages and drains to care for, Unfortunately, my body developed Pyoderma again and the recovery turned for the worst. We are beyond blessed that we have an amazing Dr. that stayed on top of things,daily, through texts and office visits…no hospital stay….we are so lucky to have an AMAZING Dr. that I consider a friend, an amazing support system, and a husband that has taught me that love is action……not words. He even ordered food from Heavenly Ham and we managed to have Thanksgiving. I’m getting stronger and I am ready for 2021 to be a healthy year for EVERYONE! Love to you all and now TURN on those CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!!”

How easily I forget. How quickly convictions become lukewarm. It was less than a month ago I blogged about GRATITUDE.

Today I am grateful for the hole in my wall gifted by my seven month old puppy who in reality is the sweetest, funniest, cuddliest, fluffiest, and up until this morning, most obedient and non-destructive. Now about that hole, don’t tell Dave. Maybe he won’t notice.

BTW, “O Holy Night” is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I almost forgot that three years ago, I wrote a blogpost titled: “A Thrill of Hope” based on one line of the song that captivated me. Wow, that was Chapter 44, thirty-three chapters ago. Life is so vastly different now. Today, I looked up the original lyrics. Wow, never heard the second and third choruses before. And those verses seem to have been written for such a time as now. This year, I think I’ll make this song my prayer… my Christmas wish list, if you will.

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;

Chorus
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming;
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand:
So, led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land,
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend;

Chorus
He knows our need, To our weakness no stranger!
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King! your King! before him bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is Love and His gospel is Peace;
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease,
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful Chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his Holy name!

Chorus
Christ is the Lord, then ever! ever praise we!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory, evermore proclaim!