Beachin' With The Parents, The Partner & The Queen

Do you hear that?

It's the sound of nothing. I can't hear a thing.

But the Queen, her Royal Highness of 10-pound dachshund can hear it.

Oh, wait, I hear it now too. It's the sound of grass growing through the sand dunes.

We planned this vacation around her - Queenie - our soon to be 10-year-old black and tan doxie who is getting older, but neither she nor I are ready to accept it. We're both in denial. I still call her my puppy. She still runs around like she believes me.

This vacation is my parents' 50th birthday gift to me.

What started out as an invitation to a cruise, turned into renting a house on Fort Myers Beach for a week so we could bring The Chuchi - one of Queenie's dozens of names.

If truth be told, it was my idea. I knew I could not enjoy myself on a cruise knowing that Queenie, The Chuchi, Pookie Wookie, was staying with someone else for a week so we could go cruising.

I love my little dog.

Despite having spent 40 years of my life sans canine, I have turned into one of those 'dog people.'

She stresses me out and I yell at her and she's extremely high maintenance. But one look from those adoring big eyes is enough to melt my heart.

She's 10. Not young for a dog. I know I must prepare myself for the ultimate responsiblity of a pet owner, but whenever my mind tries to go there, it quickly retreats.

Look at her right now. Sound asleep on my dad's lap. The sound of his snoring lulling her into peaceful doggy dreams. I look across at the two of them and I can't help but feel a tremendous sense of gratitude.

I am blessed.

They both can annoy the hell out of me. But how fortunate I am to have them.

My mom and Kelly, my melt-my-heart partner are out looking for a Petsmart to buy two gates so Queenie won't escape the patio and we can all relax.

Two adult women are driving around aimlessly so a 10-pound little fur ball can be safe.

I can't think of a better way to continue to celebrate my 50th birthday.

It's been an incredible year.

I am surrounded by the people -- and pet -- I love most in this world.

This is the best gift I could have asked for.

Yes, family, dogs, our jobs, our stuff and life can stress us out. But if we take a moment to just stop, God fills our hearts with joy.

I know that when Kelly and my mom come home there will be a lot of running around to do and putting away of groceries and stuff to take care of. And I will quickly hide the computer and feel guilty about having taken this moment to write.

But why?

Why do we feel guilty doing the things that recharge our life batteries?

The fact is, I am blessed with an incredible partner. And I will relax this week so she can too. Instead of being defensive, I will just be. I will stop myself from being selfish and sarcastic as I can be and just let go.

Ego has no place on this vacation.

I really needed this time to just be. Despite all the great things in my life right now, I needed to just stop. My body was starting to say ... whoa, chica, rest.

And so, here we are.

The little dog keeps perking up her vigilant ears as my dad continues to snore. It's all good.

I let go and relax.

I'll let the little dog keep watch.