Day 1 - It's a dog's world

It was a good night in the Andre House!!  All of you pervs get your minds out of the gutter.  It was a good night because the three monkeys (Me, Mike, and Finn...aka: George, as in Curious George) slept through the whole night without wanting to kill each other.  WOOOOO!!!  This is a rarity in our house.  Usually, Finn is up walking around on the bed finding the tiniest spot to squish his 80-lb body up against - and usually that is my feet or Mike's face.  If it's not Finn, then I am tossing and turning with a bunch on my mind, having strange dreams or hearing weird animal noises outside.  Or Mike has conveniently passed out with his arms above his head for the gagillionth (that's a scientific number, trust me) time and he wakes up with no feeling from the neck down, and he freaks.  Ah yes, the usual night time joys of sleeping in our room.

People told us when we first got Finnley, "don't let the dog sleep in your bed" and for the first few months we were fine.  Granted, Finn slept in a crate for the first few months, but we were still holding strong to the "no puppies in the bed" rule.  But then Finn got sick, and he needed attention throughout the night, and he grew, and became more snuggly (I could list a million reasons why we broke the rules), so we decided to invite him into the boudoir.  Epic fail on our parts.  You see, at the time, we were still newlyweds (yes, I say "were" because by now, 16 months into this thing, I no longer consider ourselves novices).  We were supposed to engage in pillow talk and discuss our life's dreams and goals, and all of the other things newlyweds do in the first year of marriage - again with all of you pervs.  But not us.  We had Finn in our bed!  So we would laugh at the silly positions that Finn would fall asleep in.  I would yell at Mike to move Finn for me because he was too heavy for me to budge.  Mike would yell at me because Finn was taking up too much of his side.  Ah, marital bliss.  This is what a happily ever after is all about, right?

Then there is the morning routine.  Monday through Friday Mike's alarm goes off at 4:30AM.  Poor Finn waits so patiently (most of the time) for that alarm to go off.  He sits there and waits, and once the first beep of the alarm is made, Finn thinks to himself "alright, let's do this.  It's go time!"  He is well-trained, and knows that Mike is his man.  Poor Mike, bless his heart, is the one that is stuck taking Finn out before the sun each and every day.  So Finn will make a bee-line to Mike's pillow and begin the "domestic battery."  He will smack your face with his paw.  He will nuzzle his nose in your neck.  He will step all over you.  He is bound and determined to get your ass out of bed, and food in his bowl as quickly as possible.  And he doesn't care if it is a weekday or a weekend.  He knows when it is 4:30 (even without the alarm), so this is ongoing adventure, even on the weekends.  At this point, I would like to thank all of the wonderful people in our lives who have either volunteered, or been volunteered by Mike and me, to help watch Finn overnight.  WE LOVE YOU!  :)  And, for the record, yes, it is too late to back out now.  You are already on the calendar (Grammy & Grampy Andre, Alli Fouts & Andy Candy, etc.). 

But as crabby as I sound about all of this, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  For every sleep-deprived day I have, I have more moments of pure joy with him.  Finn brings such happiness to our lives, and to the lives of our families.  He wakes up each and every day just thrilled to be alive!  He literally opens his eyes, and he is just so happy to have made it to another day.  If we could all live like that, imagine how fulfilled we'd be.  So here's to a good day!  Give your dog an extra squeeze, and embrace the morning like your puppy does. 

"There's just something about dogs that makes you feel good. You come home, they're thrilled to see you. They're good for the ego." (Janet Schnellman)