All I Ever Need to Know About Mothering I Learned from our Sheltie

• Wake everybody up with wet, sloppy kisses.
• Circle the house periodically to make sure your loved ones are all safe and accounted for.
• Freak out if someone escapes without telling you.
• Make sure your bark (an upbeat attention-getter) is always worse than your bite (gentle, playful or non-existent).
• Gather the whole family for mealtimes and activities.
• Constantly look back over your shoulder to be sure they’re still following you.
• Tolerate LOTS of chaos and silliness.
• Good-naturedly allow everyone in the family to maul you to death
• If somebody wants to be with you, act like you don’t have anything else on your mind or your schedule.
• When somebody’s sick, sit vigilantly by their side.
• (Same goes for when somebody’s sad.)
• Keep one part of the house immaculately clean, and don’t worry too much about the rest.
• Run to the door with joy whenever someone comes home.
• Alert everyone if there’s an unfamiliar intruder.
• Take advantage of every opportunity to snuggle.
• Play with the kids, indoors and out.
• Put up with lots of teasing and hyperactivity.
• Hoard treats.
• Be gentle.
• Take naps.
• Listen intently (even if you don’t understand a word they’re saying).
• Maintain a ready sense of adventure at all times.
• Give everybody a luxuriant bedtime pedicure. :)

Most important of all:
When people forget about you, ignore you, hurt you, shut you out, and maybe even step on you...love them anyway.