Today was unofficial “bring my dog to work day.” We have those from time to time. When I got her as a two-month-old puppy last year, we picked her up Memorial Day, and I was lucky enough to take her with me to work all summer (thank you, higher education!). She’s small and cute and well-loved in the office. Now, when it’s time for a special treat, she makes a guest appearance, and today was just the right day for such a drop-in. The students are all away on Spring Break, not much going on in the office, and it’s a beautiful day.

So, in we drove, puppy in her seatbelt. She loved being downtown and seeing everyone in the office. All of her old buddies. By 11:15, it was clear she was ready to go out for a walk, so I decided to make it an early lunch. Maybe half a mile from my office, down a nice little pedestrian area, is a small fenced-in dog park. Just what she needed. We walked over there and she got to play with four other dogs for a good half hour or so. As I was walking, though, I had the thought that maybe this was a longer walk than is really advisable. I made it just fine, there and back, and then it was time to find lunch, so that was a few more blocks. Got back to the office, the pooch was pooped. And so was the mama.

I was so tired that I had to lie down on the (very hard) floor of my office for 30 minutes. That was a little helpful, but even now (2 1/2 hours later), I could easily take a substantial nap. All this from being out and about on a lovely (but not hot) day for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Holy cow.

I had thought I’d try to bring her with me to work this summer as well, but I quickly had the realization that I would not be able to make that walk with her to the dog park every day (which she really needs to play out her energy). As fun as it is to have her at work, it’s also a fair amount of extra effort for me. And the reality is, I don’t have a lot of extra energy these days. My mom seems to think this wave will pass and I’ll start feeling more energetic, but I’m skeptical.

So, today, a reality check. The pooch will not join me at work all summer (though certainly we could have some drop-ins). And my idea for bringing an old loveseat into my office for naps is sounding downright essential. I think I’m going to go home and nap, now… it’s going to be one of those wild and crazy Friday nights at our house, clearly.