118 - early morning

One of my dogs wakes up in the middle of the night.. well.. she wakes up a couple of times a night. Shes an mature dog (as in years, shes going on 18) She needs help to get in bed with me. I scoop her up and she goes to her spot in the bottom corner of my bed, sometimes when the mood is right she sleeps right against my hip on top of the covers.

A couple of times during the night. Ill feel her stand up walk around a bit and then decide to try to get down. She can do it on her own, but I know that it takes her a while to do. She does a lot of scooping low to the edge of the bed and sometimes even tries to oet the bed to lower itself for her. By then I am awake and know that its time.

Time to gently pick her up and bring to ground. She heads straight for the water bowl I keep for the dogs in the corner of my room. She drinks and drinks and then keeps on drinking like shes been walking in the Sahara and this is her first taste of life giving water. As she laps up the water I dress myself, wrapping myself up in clothes to protect against the chilly air that waits for me outside. I slip my little feet into slippers and watch herfill her belly.

Together we walk to the side door where we both go outside into the cold. This time it is not as cold as I thought it would be for 1:00am. Has it only been a few hours since I drifted off to sleep?? I follow her to either the front yard or the back yard. It depends on where she feels like going. Shes earned the right to choose at this point in her life.

She walks slowly up the side of the house to the front, she crosses the driveway and finds a spot and does her thing. Sometimes she takes a while. Other times shes done and over with very quickly. I stand by the side of the road watching the few cars drive by. Some I am sure wondering at my attire. Others wondering at the reason I am out. Some wonder at both. Others just drive on by without noticing the scenery.

Once shes decided shes ready to come inside with sometimes takes about 20 minutes of sniffing and lawn changes. I think its her time to enjoy. The quiet. The silence. The peaceful serenity, of knowing that most everyone is inside. Personally I think she just enjoys making me get up that early. I have to say the world sure looks like its resting.

There arent many cars that drive by. The lights are shedding light on the street. The soudns are different. You can hear things. See the shadows and let your mind wander at the dark and dangerous men that may be lurking about.

My dog bumps into me and looks up at me as she wags her tail. She is happy. Sometimes Ill take her for a quick walk down the street to the corner and back. She follows me, so trusting she is. She loves me. I love her too. Sometimes she looks like shes still a year old puppy (shes about the same size as when she was that age) so full of energy, so playful. Other times she looks like shes lost her best friend. But im still here.

Back in the house. I refill the water bowl, pile the toys together for another day, undress and crawl into bed. Sweet warmth... I wait, I know I cant drift off yet. I feel the side of my bed dip. I look over, there she is. One of her paws finds my arm and I swear she is petting my arm. She will lift her paw, place it on my arm and slide it off, she does this over and over. Shes a sweety.

She looks happy and I scoop her up and she finds her spot beside the other dog, settles herself and drops her head on top of her paws. I say goodnight and scoot myself into sleeping position, before I drift I say thank you for giving us this time together.