Hi friends,
We got a puppy! 🐾
Meet Dillon.
He is the sweetest, fluffiest, most chaotic little addition to our family and I am completely smitten (also very tired, but mostly smitten).
Our kids have been begging for a dog for years but Matt and I had major hesitations. We already have four kids, our life is busy and chaotic as it is, we’re in the middle of a remodel…but we also knew we wanted our kids to experience growing up with a dog.
There’s something about that bond that we just didn’t want them to miss.
Time moves so fast as the kids hit these middle grades – it’s wild. (My oldest just started middle school and I don’t know how that happened!)
So we decided to just go for it and surprise them with a puppy for Christmas. They were completely shocked (they never thought it would happen!) and it’s been every bit as fun and exhausting as we expected.
We knew what we were signing up for and yet…whew.
The potty training, the chewing on absolutely everything, the constant need for supervision…it’s a lot. We call him our fifth baby.
But here’s what I didn’t anticipate: in the middle of all the chaos, this little pup has been having an impact on my health habits…
The unexpected ways my puppy is supporting my health:
He forces me to rest.
He is mostly exhausting (woke me up at 4am today) but when he’s ready to nap, his favorite place is snuggled up on my lap.
I consistently find myself pausing to rest on the couch with him and noticing what would normally be “productive time” (the neverending list of things I should be doing) has become these small pockets of intentional rest that I wouldn’t have given myself otherwise.
When there is a puppy sleeping on your lap, you don’t want to get up. As someone who tends to forget to pause and rest, this has been a surprising benefit for me.
He regulates my nervous system.
This one might be my favorite.
Dillon is a snuggler. He loves people, he loves to be close, and at the end of the day when we’re winding down on the couch, he curls right up on my chest.
The co-regulation is real.
Research shows that physical closeness with a pet lowers cortisol, slows the heart rate, and calms the nervous system.
I had a day recently where I wasn’t feeling well (one part achey, one part stressed) and after having him curled up on my lap, I genuinely felt better. I love this for my nervous system but I love it even more watching my kids experience it too.
He gets me outside.
Potty training is many things. Convenient is not one of them. 😅
But what it has done is force me to step away from my desk multiple times a day and get outside. Fresh air. A few minutes of sunshine. A moment to breathe before diving back in.
On rainy days, it’s less magical. But most of the time it’s been a genuinely helpful reset in the middle of my workday.
We know breaks are good for us, but sometimes we forget to actually take them. This has been an unexpected benefit that I know is good for my health and productivity.
He makes us laugh.
When Dillon gets the zoomies (that wild, full-speed sprint around the room for absolutely no reason) the whole family’s mood shifts.
And right now, with six of us living in half our house while we’re in the middle of a remodel, those moments of levity are so helpful.
Stress has a way of building quietly. While in some ways Dillon adds to the stress, he also seems to perfectly time his moments to remind us all not to take life so seriously.
The bigger reminder in all of this…
Improving your health doesn’t always require doing more. It doesn’t always mean a new supplement, a new program, or an overhauled routine.
And don’t worry, it also doesn’t require a puppy.
It’s a reminder that there is power in the small things – slowing down when you need to rest, stepping outside for a breath of fresh air, letting yourself laugh at life’s funny moments, and leaning into a moment of connection at the end of a hard day.
At Lindywell, this is exactly the kind of wellness we believe in – the kind that meets you in the middle of your real, full, busy life.
Simple rhythms. Mindful movement. Intentional rest. Grace over guilt. Remembering to breathe.
That’s what we’re all about here at Lindywell and I hope this inspired you to look at your daily routine to see what’s supporting your health in surprising ways today as well. 💛
And in case you missed it, Dillon has also been helping with my Pilates workouts as well. 😆
