Bed hogs and clutter.....

I think I can honestly make the statement that for the better part of the last 40 years I have had an animal in bed with me….and no, I’m not talking about some sexy hunk of man either. ~ sigh ~ I’m talking about dogs and occasionally a cat. I grew up on a farm and animals sort of knew their place back then. Our dog slept in the back door stair landing. A lot of farm dogs sleep outside in their dog houses. Today’s pets demand more and we are happy to oblige.

I now have a rat terrier and its beyond me how such a small dog can morph into such a bed hog. I have awakened before, teetering on the edge of the bed, grasping a tiny corner of cover, only to look over and see my beloved pet stretched out as much as doggly possible (doggly ?)…taking up ¾ of the bed. Some dogs are worse bed hogs than others I’ve noticed. Suzie, my terrier is pretty bad. Tommy, my Lhasa Apso, always laid on top of the covers at the foot of the bed but his body had to be touching mine. If I moved over, he would wait about 20 seconds, then he would move so he was touching me. Tommy was the one who would sit in the hallway leading to the bedroom and whine when it got to be around 10 p.m. (bedtime). He wanted to go to bed but wouldn’t go without me.

Many years ago I saw a magazine ad….I can’t remember what they were promoting but I remember the ad. It showed a small dog lying in bed next to this woman. The caption said….”do they do it because they want to or because they know we want them to?”. I’ve often wondered what the answer was to that question but I suspect it’s a little of both. They want to be with us and we want them to be with us. Such devotion and loyalty they have to offer. What a wonderful gift God has given us….the family dog. (or cat if you prefer).

I’m doing Fall cleaning…since I’m backward to most people. The nip is in the air and soon the trees will turn into a gorgeous nature’s quilt of color. This is one of my favorite times of year. I have more energy at this time so that’s why I clean now. In cleaning, I’m finding stuff I had forgotten that I had. I need to start giving away some useful things to the less fortunate. I need to simplify my life. But you know as well as I do, every single time I throw something away or give it away, I invariably will need it. I think that is part of “Murphy’s Law”, isn’t it? Just like most stuff you buy nowadays….they tell you that if you have to return it, you have to return it in its original box with all original packing materials. So I have 1900 boxes in my basement, afraid to throw them out because the minute I do, the item that the box was for will disintegrate before my very eyes. I think I’m going to adapt Oprah’s guidelines….”if you haven’t used it or even thought about it in a year, get rid of it.”