Why I Slept With A New Love When My Husband Went Out Of Town
I could tell you this was an accident.
A moment of impetuousness.
That would be a lie.
The truth is
I’ve been thinking about,
Imagining,
Planning this for weeks.
This is what happens when a husband travels a lot.
As has been the case with mine.
Out Tuesday.
Back Thursday.
All for business.
All productive.
Admirable.
And,
And,
Leaves me with freedom to do something he’d never approve of.
Sleep with our dog in the bed.
Before you judge,
Let’s acknowledge,
There are three types of people in the world.
Who are you, Dear Reader?
Are you dog people?
Not-dog people?
And among dog people,
There are those that don’t let the dog on their bed.
And those that can’t imagine falling asleep without that mound of fur stretched out beside them.
For all my life, I’ve been a “no dog on the bed” person.
This wasn’t an issue with my last dog,
My single girl dog, Darla.
She was perfectly happy snoozing away on her dog bed.
First, in my bedroom,
And later in my daughter’s room.
Months after she passed last Christmas,
We started over.
“Butter” is now a 11-month-old hound dog mix who must have had snuggle genes infused to her soul.
She doesn’t just want to be with you, she wants to lean her entire body against yours.
Her snuggle obsession makes for sheer dog lover delight.
We set the structure from the first night we brought her home from the shelter.
Crate training.
She goes in at night.
Comes out in the morning.
She’s actually quite happy in there.
So why rock the puppy boat?
Why “go there?”
Because I could.
Because I’d always wonder what I’ve been missing.
Because I’d dabbled by taking a nap with puppy last week.
My heart melted from the smile on that dog’s face as she snoozed.
Yeah, she sleep smiles.
“You’re going down a slippery slope,” my sister warned when I confessed my tiny indiscretion.
She was right.
No sooner was nap time over, then I was planning to take things up a notch.
Last night was my chance.
Husband gone.
I spread my old chenille bathrobe across the bed.
Easier to clean up the scene of the crime.
Butter hopped right up, curled in a ball, and was out faster than you can thumb through our marital pre-nup.
Eight hours of soothing puppy breathing, accentuated by that exhale of pure doggie contentment.
I mean, seriously, can you blame me?
You know that sound, fellow dog lover?
A rhythm as relaxing to me as the crashing of waves for a beach lover.
So, now you know.
I slept with a dog and I liked it.
Though, not as much as having Husband there.
And there’s not room for three of us in our bed.
So, tonight it’s back to crate for Pup.
As it should be.
Until, next week.
When who knows what might happen?
Old bathrobe and lint brush are standing by.
What say you?
Dog in bed or no?
Please give your two cents in the comments section below.
Complete truth be told, it was not 100% restful night.
((Please catch my column each week in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Dayton Daily News and other Cox Newspapers across the country.)))
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