The alarm is set for 5:00 am.
At 4:57 am, little whines start on the other side of the bedroom door.
(No alarm is needed when you have a 52 pound baby who wants to say hello.)
She sees the door open and runs towards me.
Oh, thank goodness, she says.
You didn’t forget about me.
She wiggles herself down the stairs then sits and waits.
Tail wagging, eyes wide, she’s ready to dispense love.
Balancing on her hind legs she waves both front paws at me in little circles
like a wind-up toy.
Here here
give me
love love.
I kneel down and let her rest her paws on my shoulders to kiss my face.
She wants breakfast, I know.
But even after she’s fed, she comes to me for more love, flopping herself down so that her back pushes into my leg.
I give her cuddles and pets and then she settles.
Her love cup is now filled
and so is mine.