Confession

I've seen it done a hundred times. Africa's lover, my occasional husband, comes home every night and after dinner and baby time he lays on the floor and cuddles with Africa. I roll my eyes and think of a thousand things I could be doing (so should he) instead of spooning with the dog.

Don't tell my husband this, but the other night I tried it. The husband was at the fire station. The baby was down for the night and it was soon to be bedtime for me. As usual Africa was hanging out wherever I was. She looked so at peace with herself. I am often jealous of her demeanor. How nice would it be to truly just relax at the end of the day. She gave me that adorable look that I can usually ignore, but for some reason I didn't.

I laid down on the floor next to her, she scooted up close to me and laid her head in the crook of my arm. It was quite nice. I mean really nice. She was just as surprised as I was at how truly comfortable it was. She moved a little closer to me and I continued petting her puppy soft head. I think we both sighed. It was just a good moment.

I think that is why we are blessed with dogs. They have a way of reminding you of what is truly important. Even when they spend all day chewing little items you once needed, you realize it really isn't that important. The idea is that slowly over time she can perhaps teach me that whether she is to blame or not, I can live without things that are not truly not important. I can take moments to pause and appreciate what is important, and I should not live without moments like we had the other day.