Let me tell you a story of love, fur babies, children, and cat shit.
My mother, God bless her and please let her live for another thirty years, took our three-year-old for a sleepover last night with two of his young cousins. The little man was so excited he danced around the room, and my three-year-old was pretty jazzed too. šĀ
I bragged about this turn of events all day from my workout class at 6:30am (We canāt wait to have the house to ourselves!) to the Starbucks barista who gave me a weird look as I told him about my mom taking my little guy and how excited we were to be alone in the house, to just myself, muttering under my breath that I was going to go to bed at 8pm, that the bed would be glorious, that there would be epic memories made.
To sleep for twelve hours. Oh . . . fair sleep how we have missed thee. Itās not like our three-year-old is a bad sleeper per se. He wakes up 4 or 5 nights a week in the middle of the night crying, (The 3am is your heart beating alarm is what we call it) but itās the morning that kills me. Heās up by 6am, usually before. Every. Single. Morning.Ā
So this . . .boon my mother offered us was nothing short of manna from Heaven. A sleep in! Oh GOD A SLEEP IN!
My hubby and I went to bed no later than usual, right around 11pm (rebels that we are) which I thought would be fine, Iād just sleep in later. We smiled at each other, closed our eyes and started our long-awaited siesta.Ā
For an hour, at least. An hour into the bliss, I hear massive scratching from the cat, sounding like sheās reached the bottom of her litter box and is trying to dig her way through the bottom. As if she were Wolverine attempting to save Jean Grey on the other side. I threw a few curse words under my breath. Irritation high. Right before I got up to shake the F*^cking litter box and throw the cat outside, she stopped. Perhaps she sensed my intentions as she climbed into bed with me, promptly laid her 6lbs on my chest and went to sleep.Ā
I closed my eyes, following her lead.Ā
For maybe twenty minutes.Ā
There comes a crash and clatter of dog toenails on the laminate floor right outside our bedroom. The dog (who has heart problems) has gotten out of her bed and collapsed. I leap out of bed, throwing the cat off me as I race to help the dog. As I flick on the light I see she is flat on her belly, not moving. My first thought is sheās had a heart attack and died. Our girl who we love dearly, has finally left us.
Nope. Turns out it was almost worse.
Sheād just got up for a midnight wander and fell like the old lady she is. Something she has NEVER done before. I get her back into bed, all the while she is licking her chops like . . .she just ate something . . .
I shut her door on her cage, locking it. Then go to investigate. The pieces come together slowly as my brain fully kicks in, waking up from sleep I was supposed to be having still.Ā
There is litter in a trail from the bathroom where the cat box is . . .litter that is clumped as if recently used . . .
The bomb drops inside of my brain. The cat scratching wildly from earlier? My cat apparently couldnāt get a turd to unhinge from her ass and dragged it OUTSIDE OF HER BOX AND INTO THE HALLWAY. Of course, there is no sand on laminate floor in which to cover it with hence the wild scratching. At THIS point, the old dog smelling her favorite candy only feet away, sneaks out of her bed like a naughty kid and goes to gulp them up. But being an old lady who apparently canāt see in the dark, she tumbles to the floor, then just lays there waiting for me to rescue her.Ā
Thoughts flash through my mind as I struggle not to gag (the dog is still licking her chops). I have a choice. I can tell my husband the true events and watch him get all pissy about cats in general, and have him grumble half the night . . . or I can say nothing.Ā
Really there is no decision here. I flick the light off (itās now after 1am) and lay back in bed. The cat, thinking nothing of the events climbs back into bed with me. Sheās purring away, little heathen that she is. Lucky sheās cute.
Five minutes. FIVE MINUTES OF PEACE AND QUIET.Ā
The dog. . .begins to gag.Ā
OH MY GOD SHEāS GOING TO THROW UP CAT SHIT.
Now . . .dog vomit is bad enough, but really, throwing up cat shit? I lay in bed petrified as I listen to her gag. Again, two choices. I can lay in bed and wait for it to happen, backing up my previous choice that nothing was wrong. Or I can jump up and try to get her outside, potentially getting dog vomit mixed with cat shit on my carpet.Ā
At least I can wash the dog bed easier is my thought and so I lay there, waiting for it to happen. For the next two hours, the dog gags and coughs, licking her lips while I wait in a state of dozing wakefulness I reserve for nights my kid is sick.Ā
Morning comes, Iām exhausted, hubby rolls over with a smile and a wink. āWeāre still alone honey.ā
āNot on your life.ā I grumble as I flip the blankets off and stomp out of the room with barely five hours under my belt.
Next time, Iām sending the animals to grandmaās house and Iām keeping the kid.Ā
OMG!!! How the HE!! do you know what my dog does?!?! I laughed so hard, my work partner got scared! Truly, our sweet old girl doesnāt have heart issues, but thatās her favorite ācandyā as well! Thanks for the laugh, and if I was anywhere close to you, Iād take your child AND the animals for a night!!!
Great laugh! I totally sympathize. I 3 spawn (kids)3 hounds from hell (dogs) 1 i hate you but let you live in my home (cat) … and yes a husband.
That so sounds like somthing that would happen to me!!! But you are a true story teller, had to read it to hibby, better luck next time, or better sleep anyway, lol!
Yep, I laughed at your expense. And since I arrived home to Southern Cal from Florida only to find myself locked out of the house, thus am currently at the Embassy Suites…. I needed the laugh. Thanks!
Omg I feel so sorry. I know the pure joy and excitement that can come from having a night away from children. Oh an I think this animal thing is contagious last night we were awoke twice by my car howling and hissing like she was being attacked(meanwhile she is in the house) and there is another cat sweetly sitting on the patiodeck. My cat is going bezerk at 4am in the morning cause she sees a cat outside. Crazy animals.
Hahaha…yup.. been there. .actually every night!