The house was quiet and TheHusband was already asleep when TheAnnabelle jumped onto the bed and started pawing at the edge of the comforter. She usually acts all tough and hardcore, but in reality she's like everyone else and loves to be loved. I call her our "secret cuddler" because she loves to crawl under the covers and curl up next to us. She usually waits until we are laying down, but last night she just couldn't wait. After I raised the covers for her to crawl under, she worked her way down to my feet, curled herself into a ball between my ankles and started to purr her loud, full body, "I'm so happy with life" purr.
It was nearly 10 o'clock and I wanted to go to sleep myself, but I knew that even with the A/C on, it wouldn't take long for her to get too warm and crawl back out. I decided to read for the 15-20 minutes I thought she would stay.
A few minutes later, after TheAnnabelle's purr had softened into a low steady rhythm, TheDexter jumped onto the nightstand beside me. We had already played our "mousey on a string" game, but he wanted more attention so I rubbed his head. He started purring and proceeded to knead the comforter on my leg. It was obvious he was trying to figure out how to crawl into the bed with us, but he's too timid and won't walk over me so I lifted him haphazardly across my lap and put him in the space between me and TheHusband. As expected, this made him nervous, but surprisingly he decided to stay and made himself comfortable as he stretched himself out, back to back with TheHusband.
That's when it happened, when time slowed down and I felt God's gentle embrace surrounding me. This life, this crazy, painful, joyous, sometimes confusing life may not be exactly what I longed for when I was a child, but it is exactly the life I didn't even know I yearned for. For a few precious moments I sat there, quietly breathing it all in.
Then TheHusband moved and TheDexter, chicken butt that he is, hurled himself off the end of the bed faster than you can blink. All the commotion disturbed TheAnnabelle and she slithered over my foot and off the side of the bed leaving me to do the only thing I could. I smiled as I lay down to drift slowly off to sleep.
Have you ever had a moment like that?
A moment where you know just how lucky you are to have the life you have?
