Play Dates

I've recently discovered play dates, and they're great!!

A few days ago, Maya was not cooperating with my studying.  She kept trying to jump on me, tear up my books, run off with my pen or highlighter, bark nonstop, and other very distracting behavior.  I know she was just feeling neglected and wanted me to play with her, but I just didn't have the time.  As I fell further and further behind, I just yelled at her more and more.  The more upset I got, the worse her behavior got.

That's when I decided to pay my neighbor a visit.  She absolutely loves Maya, and Maya is pretty crazy about her too.  She's always offering to take Maya for a few hours whenever I need to get some work done, so I decided to take her up on her offer.  After making sure she wasn't busy, I dropped Maya off and headed back home to study.  I got 2.5 hours of uninterrupted studying, and Maya got 2.5 hours of uninterrupted pampering and playtime.  It's exactly was we both needed.  When I picked her up, I was recharged on my patience and she had gotten some much needed attention.  The rest of the evening was good for both of us.

Last night, Maya had a second play date.  I had just taken her out for the last time before heading to bed.  On our way back home, we ran into a neighbor and his dog.  We stopped and chatted for a few minutes while the dogs played.  About 10 minutes later, another neighbor came by with her dog.  The three of us chatted for about 30 minutes while the dogs continued playing.  It was great because all three dogs are about the same size, so they play really well together.  By the time we finally went home, Maya was beat.  She got some water, and then went straight to bed and was out like a light.  This let me get a couple more things done before I called it a night.

I'm thinking I need to start setting up some play dates for her a little more often.  :)