I rarely take social media quizzes, but I took this one and… SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR.

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but apparently you can. Check it out.

Like I said. Old dog. New Tricks. Word.

Obviously I’m not a dog-turned-human, but the truth is the Old Dog version of me spent more time and resources grooming the family dog than I did grooming myself because that’s what moms do. We put everybody – including the dog – first. There are only so many hours in the day and more times than not, there simply isn’t time for mom.

There is a two decade-stretch of time, immediately following the birth of my first child, during which I was perpetually overloaded and exhausted. At first it was breast-feeding and napping and diapers (so many diapers). Then it was school and sports and the dog (“because a boy should not grow up without a dog”). Then drivers’ licenses and high school graduations and college. Before I knew it, my kids were grown and gone and somehow, although I swore I’d never let it happen, I totally looked like a mom. Sensible shoes, comfortable (TRANSLATION: frumpy) mom jeans, twice yearly $12 haircuts from Great Clips and the occasional swipe of tinted chap stick.

It’s strange. One minute I’m locking myself in the bathroom to get five minutes of solace from perpetually hungry little people hanging on me and bombarding me with question after question after question (most of which I had no idea how to answer) and the next I’m struggling to survive not being needed at all. You never stop being a mom, but there comes a stage when daily life no longer requires you to look like one. Still, old habits are hard to break.

Enter ballroom dance.

Old dog. New tricks. Word.

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Click on the related links below to learn more about Pudge, the best dog in the universe. RIP, sweet girl.

My Dog Pudge

Don’t Kiss the Dog 

Ode to My Dog, Pudge