There's nothing like a good game of Husky Football!

After a stressful few days of meeting deadlines, I went out to hang with “the kids” last night. When I’m stressed or in a bad mood, aside from hanging with my daughter, spending time with our fur babies always makes me feel better. They are funny, charming, cute, and silly. How can you help but smile when you see their big inquisitive blue eyes gazing up at you? And their silly shenanigans just make me laugh. Even if they are sound asleep, the slightest sound of the door creaking, and they are up and ready to love. So, there I am after an intense 11-hour shift of writing and editing, looking for a little relief…when our Harley girl drops a dog toy in my lap. What’s this? Tug-o-war, you ask? Why certainly, I could use some aggression-release at this point. So we are having a good go at it…me pulling, her tugging, me pulling harder, her tugging harder…oh, wait, Bandit has now joined in…it’s a three-way game now…oh, curious Chloe trotted over to check out all the excitement…and Gibson meandered over, deciding to give up napping for play. Bandit picked up on my just-got-done-with-work-stress level and her fur was standing straight up, Mohawk-style, from the base of her neck to her tail and then she really got into the game--BIG time. Tug, pull, growl-talk, tug. Harley got control of the toy (which is really a few tied scraps left to what once was a large felt braid) and she took off running…and panting...with her neck fur straight-up at attention (although not quite a Mohawk). And then Bandit moved in for the steal, and she missed! Wolf tried to intercept, but missed as Harley charged down the middle of the deck—right into the Hu-Mom (me) who had control of the “ball,” however brief. Tug, pull, growl-talk, tug. Yay! I once again regained control of the toy. “Harley, go deep!” I yelled as I pitched the “ball” across the deck sending all five Sibes thundering across the wood. It was a great mid-air catch by Nanuk “Harley” Mari! Then a few Sibes broke out in a tumble as Harley slipped past them with the toy and shoved it, in all of its dog-saliva-dripping glory, into my hands for more play, but not before Bandit and Wolf got a piece of it, and it was back to a three-way tug for control before they totally tired me out. I dropped down to get my share of happy Husky kisses and gave them a big group hug. Smiles abounded, both canine and human. What more can I say? A few rounds of Husky Football is the best damned stress therapy in town!