Sometimes Love Shows Up With Four Paws: Empty Nest Puppy Love

February is the month of love… and this year, we welcomed a brand-new kind of love into our home.

On February 16th… right after Valentine’s Day… and on my husband Scott’s birthday… we brought home Ruby, our Cavapoo puppy.

If you’ve been following along, you know that losing our sweet Lizzie last June left a quiet in our home that was hard to describe. She was with us for 16 years… through raising three boys, through moves, through every stage of life. When she was gone, it wasn’t just losing a dog… it was losing a daily rhythm, a presence, a constant source of unconditional love.

For months, I felt like something was missing.

Truthfully... I actually like feeling needed. I like having a reason to come home. I like having structure in my day. I like the responsibility of caring for another living being… because it pulls you outside of yourself.

Empty nesting is a funny thing. You spend decades pouring your time, energy, and love into your kids… and then one day, the house gets quiet. You’re proud of them… you’re happy for them… but there is undeniably a shift. A part of your identity changes.

And what I’ve realized is this…

We don’t stop needing to nurture just because our kids grow up.

We just need new places to put that love.

Ruby has already changed the rhythm of our days. She gets us moving more. She gets us outside. She makes us smile constantly. She forces us to slow down… to be present… to notice the little things.

What I didn’t expect was how deeply this season of empty nest puppy love would restore our sense of purpose and bring warmth back into a once-quiet home.

Yes, we’re tired. Yes, puppy training is a whole new adventure. And yes, Scott needed a little convincing before we took the leap.

But already, we both know… she came into our lives at exactly the right time.

Because sometimes, the healthiest thing you can do in midlife isn’t another supplement, another workout, or another productivity hack…

Sometimes it’s simply saying yes to love… responsibility… and the beautiful feeling of being needed again.

And right now, as I’m writing this… she’s running around at my feet reminding me that life doesn’t stay quiet for long.