Marley & Me

I just finished reading Marley & Me.  I have to say, I was more than a little disappointed.  I have been dying to see the movie from all the hype.  All the people I have spoken to have said it was great.  And, of course, what a tear-jerker it was.  

I am not saying that I did not have the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat at the end of the book.  Because, honestly,  I did.  But, I would have had the same reaction had the book been written about a cat, turtle or even maybe a snake.  A pet is a pet is a pet.  AND NOTHING feels as bad as losing one.  Even losing a human counterpart, I truly believe, is not as hard as losing a pet.  And with every ounce of sympathy in me, I felt for that family - I felt for them truly and deeply.  Now here comes the however . . . 

However, the story is supposedly about the world's worst dog, and the life lessons he teaches his family.  In reading this story, I was waiting for the truly horrific things that would set this animal apart from many (if not the majority) of everyone else's family pets.  They never came.  Yes, there were definitely some slap your knee funny moments in the book and some pretty extraordinary tales about the damage Marley managed to created, don't get me wrong.  But, I have heard about and seen MUCH worse.  

All in all, the book was actually a good read.  Not extraordinary, but good.  I am not sad that I read it and do not feel as if I wasted my time.  But, I think that I was expecting so much more from it because of everything I have heard.  I hate that.  People should not be allowed to hype up movies or books.  It is always such a let down when I actually read or see them.  

As for Marley & Me - it definitely makes you think about your own mortality and the short-lived span of life with a pet.  Although Little Miss B is not even 1 yet, I found myself glancing up from my book every so often, wondering how I will ever cope when her time comes.  And truth be told, Marley's biggest life lesson, for me anyway, is that we should all embrace each moment and live it to the fullest.  This for me, has always been incredibly hard.  I tend to overthink, overanalyze and fret about everything - just a bit too much.  By the time my decisions are made, it is usually a day late and a dollar short.  So, I have vowed to embrace Marley's lessons and make the effort to live in the moment a little more and try to let the control and analytical side of me take a back seat sometimes. 

Who knows, it just might work.