Dog Makes Everything Better

Sometimes my animals astonish me, and last night was no exception. A random, innocent gesture (calling Gus a nickname I used to use for Mr. Squiggles, but had forgotten) eventually led to a full-scale meltdown later in the evening, as Jim and I were laying in bed with Indiana. I try not to think about Mr. S too much, because I can't cry every day, as I would otherwise want to. Add all of our other losses to that, and I repress a lot of grief. That has to come out every once in a while, and last night, the nickname was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I hate crying in front of Indiana (it makes her upset), but I just couldn't help myself. Jim was so sweet and understanding, encouraging me to let it all out, and knowing he was crying and hurting too made it all that much worse. In the midst of all the tears, Indiana got up from the foot of the bed, walked between us, and laid down. We used to call this "Mama-Papa Puppy Time," because she used to do it nearly every night with us. She'd start between us, with us kissing her, petting her, talking to her, and after 5-10 minutes, she'd grow tired of the affection and would get up and lay back down at the foot of the bed. Indy hasn't given us Mama-Papa Puppy Time (or MPPT, as we call it) in ages. So when she did it last night, we were astonished.

This amazing dog read our emotions and was trying to comfort us. Boy, did it work.

So as I dried my tears and tried to put on a happy face for this sympathetic dog, I found I actually did feel better. And Jim was right when he told me that we have so many things still left to love in our lives. One of the very best was laying right between us.