Hope

Just about everyone, myself included, likes to blog about the good things in life, particularly when they're in a happy, loving marriage or committed relationship.  I like to get all mushy, and sometimes banging out some sappy, heartfelt blog post is just a really fun way to spend a Friday morning.  But the thing of it is, sometimes being married can be kind of hard.  I know!!  Big shocker!

I'm not even talking about in the big ways that you always hear about in those stories about why the divorce rate is so high.  Like, obviously money issues can cause problems.  You want five kids, he was thinking more like one kid and some new golf clubs.  That stuff can certainly have an impact on a relationship, but I'm talking about the little things.

Like, you want to set the thermostat at 72 because you both make a decent wage and can probably afford to pay the gas bill, but he wants to keep it at 68 because he's kind of miserly and wears a lot of fleece.  So, you compromise and set it at 70, but no one is ever really happy about a compromise, so you both make disparaging comments about the other's temperature preference from time to time.  Or maybe you like the feel of crisply, tightly tucked sheets when you climb into bed at night, and he's more of a "tornado just hit the house, leaving the bed intact but rumpled" kind of a guy.  So you keep your side tucked in and he kicks the sheets out on his side, which SEEMS like it should work, but in reality, every morning the entire bed looks suspiciously more like the tornado situation, and it is POSSIBLE that one time you actually cried, because seriously, is having the sheets tucked in really THAT HORRIBLE??

And then of course, maybe I--I mean, YOU--want to get a third dog, so you kind of joke about it all the time, but in a way that makes it pretty clear that you're not actually joking, and then he's like "the yard is too small, and you aren't the one that picks up the poop, anyway."  Then, completely by accident you stumble across an adoption listing featuring this adorable, Fraggle-like face:

So, you kind of once more jokingly bring up that whole crazy third dog idea, and you're once more kind of jokingly shot down.  And then you get seriously sad, and you think guiltily to yourself that if you weren't married and didn't have to make joint decisions, you'd just get the damn dog.  And then you realize that you're a horrible person, and obviously being married and having someone else to pick up the poop of the two dogs you're already lucky enough to have and to share your life with is about a million percent better than getting a third dog.  But you still obsess about the dang Fraggle dog and pray that someone else out there will adopt her and give her the love she deserves, and then you just hope that the dreams about Hope go away some time soon.

Because really, what kind of moron has multiple dreams about a dog she's never met anyway?  Not me, that's for sure...

Comments

[Tova Darling]

Oh my, yes. I know exactly what you mean, and I'm sorry you can't get Fraggle face dog. Mr. D is somewhat concerned that if we get a third cat, we'll become crazy cat people. He's probably right. But when you stop and think about it, what's one more cat, really?

We also have the sheet and thermostat discussions ALL the time.

[Becky aka StinkyLemsky]

OMG - I was literally JUST looking at our local shelter's website.... This cutie is tearing at my heartstrings:
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13102521

Seriously - I'm losing my job in a month, we do NOT need a dog... but how can I ignore a face like THAT?!?!
:)

[Miriam]

The thermostat thing, holy crap YES! Drives me bonkers.

[Brittany]

Oh no... I love Hope... she made me cry.

[Operation Pink Herring]

Ok, I want to comment about the dog and all that but I can't get past the thermostat. SEVENTY?! We compromise at SIXTY FOUR! and I thought that was all me being a terrible hippie and ruining the environment.... my mind, it is officially blown.

[Heidi Renée]

I keep it around 60--I might go up to 64 if I can't feel my feet. I grew up that way--blame my mother. But her frugal ways paid for camp and Europe trips in high school, so...

My husband is always saying that he wants a little dog. Except that he has never lived with a dog, not even one day of his life. I have. I do not want to take care of a dog. He is never home. I win. (I always win.)

[Anne]

You are too cute.

I'm always cold, he's always warm. He picks up the dog poop too. :)

I don't know where I was going with this except to say I love this post.

hugs,
anne

[Becky]

Although Ted and I aren't married yet, I feel like we kind of are. I know what you mean that the other can sometimes be the wet blanket, but at the same time, I've also realized that we can both be each others' voice of reason. In your case, it's the third dog. In mine, it's not getting a massage just because I have the extra free time right now that i probably would've done a few years ago. It's tough though, but maybe that's what makes it worth it?

[Caro]

You are not a horrible person whatsoever, but you are blessed. I would give anything to have someone to bicker over the temperature with or to cause me to cry over the bed sheets...

Hope is adorable, by the way, but I can't come up with anything else on that situation, except maybe when you have a bigger yard ;-)

[Cat]

I wuv that wittle face, if it makes you feel any better. I would like to adopt him, too, though I think my cats would probably be less keen on the idea.

Sounds suspiciously like real life. :-)

[Kate P]

So you're saying I wouldn't get into so much trouble if I were married? ;)

[Kate P]

Seriously, though, that is one cute doggie. I know always want to take home all the homeless cats from Petsmart. But that wouldn't be fair to the one I have already! It is hard to say no to a cute face like that. . . and be content with the assurance that having compassion for animals is a sign of good character, at least in my book. You're good people. :)

[christina]

We sleep in the same bed with separate sets of sheets. You learn to make it work. :)

[Old Warrior]

So - you apparently aren't aware of the fact that this blog could have been notes you were taking as you were growing up surrounded by the Old Warrior vs. The Incubator.

Fortunately, we never went past one four-legged lawn fertilizer. And, it only took 25 years for The Incubator to give up even starting with the sheet tucked in on my side.

[slynnro]

Oh god, you CANNOT look at those sites. It is PURE TORTURE.

[Jessica]

OMG I love that you said Fraggle-like. A woman at work has been sharing photos of a dog she wants to adopt. It's asking for trouble.

[La Petite Chic]

Oh, honey, I'm with you. I have found so many adoptable dogs over the past year but Jon swears that the next dog is his pick. ARGH.

[Fraulein N]

Awww. THAT FACE. I want that dog.