I'm sitting here in my hotel room watching the early morning surfers in the Pacific Ocean. The marine layer in San Diego hasn't burned off completely yet which leaves it moody, misty and cozy and the perfect time to reflect with a cup of coffee from my bed with all the lights on.
Besides the obvious being the beauty of the rumbling ocean and cute surfer boys in my line of vision, I question why I am awake way earlier than usual and so refreshed?
I haven't even been here for 24 hours yet to be “rested”. I've consumed bad stuff--alcohol, pizza, chip and salsa. Most definitely the things I do not do at home. I generally eat well and drink very little.
Then it hit me.
I slept without my Lab, Jojo.
My husband Rob is a quiet sleeper and Chubba Wubba Ding Dong is quietly snuggled in her double bed on his side of the bed. Petunia is in her kennel, soundo.
But Jojo. Holy hell. He.Is.The.Opposite.
He sleeps in between us with long, gangly legs that he pumps ferociously while asleep and running through whatever the hell he's running through.
I often wake up muttering expletives to myself while protecting my teeth and guts that Jojo clearly aims for while pumping those legs and rocking the bed like the Northridge quake of 1994 (yes, Rob and I suffered through that monster).
This dog has been with me 4-1/2 years and has never run while awake! But in his sleep, he's a madman of a sprinter.
As I dutifully shovel in my supplements wondering why I look so wrinkled and inflamed and feel exhausted most days, I've solved at least a piece of the aging puzzle today.
I do not sleep a solid 8 or 9 hours. I'm interrupted constantly. CONSTANTLY! I wake up, take a drink of water, turn over in the 3 inches of bed space he has allotted me fat arse and try and go back to sleep if I can.
Rinse and repeat I don't know how many times a night.
Jojo's days have been numbered for at least 18 months. Chubba Wubba Ding Dong came in like a wrecking ball 15 months ago and loved him so hard that he came back to life with a will to live.
He's an old Lab at probably 15 years of age. Has cancer. Is anorexic at 52 pounds. Is incontinent x2. Smells atrocious. The smell of his dirty diaper at 3:00 a.m. is enough to knock over an elephant. Thank dog for Rob as he does most of the diaper duty.
I may be tired and a bit wrinkled but I’m grateful for every minute that he revels in the cozy racetrack called our bed. He wakes up with such wonder on his face as he crosses the finish line victorious every time and looks at me with love-filled eyes. Luckily, he doesn't understand mine are bloodshot.
This morning, I still have the same wrinkles as I approach 60 (good gawd) but I look way better and I feel great as I sit here munching on cold pizza and hot coffee.
The epiphany? I slept like a baby for 8-1/2 hours. Uninterrupted.
We are loving and weak pet parents with this one. If all it takes is love and our bed to keep him alive well beyond his years, how can we deny him?
I will never regret these lost hours of sleep. Ever.
I suppose I'll just have to vacation a little bit more in San Diego to get the rest I need OR it may be time to open a satellite training location with a pet parent spa overlooking the ocean...😉
Pacific Terrace Hotel, 2021