Life Lessons

Many of you know by now that we had to put down our dog Bull that we have had for about 12 years.  A very sad day in our household especially for Jacob who was especially attached to him, besides the fact that Saturday is Jacobs birthday.  I am heartbroken for Jacob.  I wish i could shield him from the pain of this.  What parent doesn't want to protect their child from the hurts and pains of life??  But then I take a step back and look at my soon to be 14year old who is so much braver and smarter and wiser then I was at 14.  If we don't let them experience all this pain and hurt then how do they experience the joys and happy things in life?  I want my children to know all aspects of life and if i don't let them hit the low points how do they hit the highs?   I wish I could protect them from life and wrap them in a bubble and keep them from the mean world but i want them to LIVE!  Aaaahhh the joys and pains of being a parent.  I wish i could freeze moments from their lives and keep them in a special place.  All of the silly quotes that i swear i am gonna put in a book one day.....Don't eat bologna off your brothers head.  I think you need a bath kristian,,i think you need a smack in the head.....jessica standing next to the vacuum for 15 minutes asking me where the vacuum is......jared walking out of the bathroom and saying i just peed in my own eyeball.....crazy crazy things but they make me crack up every time i think about them.   Moments where my own kids who could kill each other any given day and today when i tell the younger kids Bull is gone and they are all worried how Jacob is....these are the moments i treasure as a parent.  At some point all my kids will be gone and I know i will cherish the silence for about 15minutes and then i will miss the crazy chaos that is my life right now.  Ozzy summed it up very nicely on his tv show when he told his kids   "I love you all. I love you more than life itself, but you're all fucking mad."   Yep that describes it pretty well.