Happiness is....

My mornings usually go something like this: little bean wakes up in the early morning hours and I bring her into our bed to feed her and coax her into a couple more hours of sleep. My husband is not such a fan of this, as by the time we wake up, little bean has turned sideways, snuggling her face into mine (though sometimes she pulls my hair!) and placing one or both feet directly onto my husband's throat and face. She kicks in her sleep, you get the idea... One time he even woke up to her grabbing his lower lip with both hands and very enthusiastically pulling down with all her might. But she sighs and snores in her sleep making the sweetest little sounds I have ever heard, so I feel all should be forgiven. Sometime in the night the dog and the cat both make their way onto the bed as well. We must feel generous in our sleep because both the husband and myself end up contorting ourselves into some weird "S" shape while we sleep in order to accommodate both of our fur babies at the bottom of the bed. Occasionally we will wake up and it will dawn on us, "Hey, this is OUR bed!" and make them go and use the two pet beds we have, only to wake up an hour later back at square one. And so it goes, we wake up, contorted into "S" shapes, being kicked in the throat and having our already thinning hair being pulled out. And I love it.... To me, happiness is waking up to a completely overcrowded bed each morning.

Many people think I am crazy. Some are probably horrified that I bring our baby into bed with us, especially with our pets. Everyone is allowed their opinion, and this happens to be mine. There is something wonderful about a family bed, something that doesn't happen during the business of the day, something that I can only really appreciate in the still, quiet hours of the day. 

 Sometimes I get so busy during the day that I forget to appreciate that all of these wonderful beings are HERE! They are here with me, everyday. How lucky am I, that I have all 4 of them. For a long time (well, really only about 7 years) I began to think that I wouldn't have this in my life. A series of failed relationships in my 20's had me convinced that the "family" life was something unattainable for me, and I best devote my time and energy to other things. I began to focus on school and career, thinking if I became successful enough I would be able to adopt one day and build the life that had eluded me. As it often happens, God had other plans for me while I was busy making my plans, and delivered to me everything I had ever dreamed of laying alone at night in a spacious bed, just me and my cat. 

So in the early morning hours, when I wake up because a cat or dog has just perched himself on my feet, or a little baby has rolled over and nuzzled in looking for my breast, or my husband starts snoring.... I smile. I smile and say a little prayer of gratitude that I am this lucky. "You should get a King bed!" I often hear people say, "We should get a California King!" my husband will say... not a chance... :)