The G-Pup is in a bit of a state. She doesn’t like change. It’s not full-blown anxiety. It’s just a bit of a state. A state in which she sighs deeply and often. A state in which she rests her head on her two front paws and looks up at you with her big, mournful, chocolate, G-Pup eyes.

That state.

In November, we drove an alien car onto her driveway. An alien car in which she was expected to hop in and out of the very back — the hatchback. From the time we brought her home at 9 weeks until early November, she was a G-Pup living in a Toyota Echo world. She had the backseat and side windows for her own, and had panted and drooled them into submission. She was living the G-Pup dream.

Then, we brought the Hyundai hatchback into her life. Her first trip was a horror.

Where is my step?

How do I get up into this alien thing?

Don’t I need tinfoil ears for this?

She trembled.

She shook.

She was resigned.

We had to do a rear end assist the first few times, until she got the hang of it.

Color her world dark.

Fast forward to December. To today. The day the tree went up.

Before the tree went up, there was much moving of furniture and dusting and vac’ing and mopping, and a general disturbance of her world. The central vac was suspect. The mop and water bucket were in her spot. She was banished to the upper floor while the floor dried.

More world of dark color.

We broke with tradition and put up the artificial tree two years in a row. We usually alternate with a fresh tree, but we decided against that this year. We had our reasons.

The G-Pup doesn’t care about our reasons. She cares about the big box that comes out of the basement. She cares about the freaky green limbs being sorted all over the living room floor. She cares that the furniture is being moved.

She’s living in an alien world.

And in a bit of a state.

But resigned, as only a G-Pup can be.

Gracie will feel better when her stocking goes up.

Won’t you, Gracie?

Gracie?

Is it like this at your house?

P.S. This tree speaks to me. Y’all know how much I love watercolor. Someone should paint this on my wall. Yeah.  I wonder what the G-Pup would think of that?