It's raining, it's pouring...the California storms continue

Truthfully all this talk about the 3 big storms has gotten me a bit nervous.  As I write, I can hear the wind howling with an occasional thump outside.  Most likely these noises are benign but my mind goes to the extreme.  Did a chair from our backyard just hit the wall?  Was that a tree falling on our roof?  Is our house going to blow off its foundation?  Oh my gosh we're all going to DIE!

Needless to say, I'm a bit jumpy.

Although there are many things I love about the rainy season, there is one item that I am less than excited about.  I put it off for as long as I can and try to pawn the responsibility onto someone, anyone else.  But, alas, multiple times a day my sweet, obedient, and well mannered Labrador Retriever gets off her bed, walks up and lets me know it is time.

She must go outside to use the facilities.

When our dog, Kayla, was a puppy we walked her out to her cement kennel on the side of our yard each and every time she let us know that she had to...go. We would then puff our chest out and pat ourselves on the back, knowing that our dog was getting trained.  There would be no dead grass spots or land mines waiting for our children on the lawn.

No!

Our dog was trained.

Or was it us?  Were we trained?

Our fiercely loving pack animal refuses to do her doo without her pack outside to provide protection.

And so it goes.

And then it rains.

And our furry, four-legged family member informs me that it's time.

Sigh.

Labradors are water dogs.  Did you know that?

Ya.  Would you mind informing my dog of that?

Kayla hates to get her paws wet.  She tiptoes outside, looks back at me with disgust as she walks to her destination, through the rain.  She circles and circles, looking for the least wet spot to stand.  And looks at me, for help.

"Come on Kayla, GO!" I say.

She circles again.

"Go to the bathroom!"

She stops and stares.

At this point, I realize I'm trying to reason with my dog.  "If you go quicker, your paws will get drier faster."  "Stop walking around." "I'm cold, come one!!"  "It's been hours since I've taken you out, please, please go?!"

And so it continues.  Kayla hates the rain.

And I stand there like a good trained owner does.

And wait for a break in the storm.

Nanette can be found on her regular site writing about her family and her life as a teacher on her personal blog SmilingMom.com.