"Babies" and "Puppies"

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking about newborns and dogs.  But I'm not.  Well, not directly anyway.

Whenever Abby and Isaac go down for a nap or to bed at night, they want something to hold onto.  Generally for Abby, it's her baby -- and it is a cuddly, soft little bundle that I would want to snuggle up with, too (if it were big enough that I would feel like I was suggling with something).  And for Isaac, he likes to take toy trains, toy cars, toy animals . . . but particularly his little puppy dog.  Again, it's the perfect size for some really snuggly lovin'.  And I think my kids get some sort of safety net from these things, like somehow they are not all alone in the dark world of bedtimes and they are loved.

In fact, just last night Abby woke up screaming like four times.  The first time, she was laying on the floor, passing her hand under the door, totally distraught because she had woken up and could not find her "baby's blankie."  It was wrapped up in her own, but for some reason that really hit her!  I found it, swaddled her baby, gave her back to Abby, and Abby was happy as a clam and fell right back to sleep.

And I was thinking about how you never really "out-grow" that desire to just LOVE, physically connect with, something (someone) up close!  Oakay, maybe you don't ALWAYS feel it.  Like this morning when Isaac came in the kitchen while I was making breakfast and saw Abby and said, "Abby!  Haaaaiiii!!!  Hi, Abby!" and ran over to give her a hug, which she promptly, disdainfully, and even physically rejected, emphasizing it with a little temper tantrum, just in case he missed the memo.  And I guess we all have days like that, too.  BUT, don't you have those friends who give you a hug that makes you feel like you have just been wrapped in a warm blanket EVERY TIME YOU SEE THEM? I bet you can't wait to run into them, right?   (I actually looked for that "coming home" feeling when I was dating guys; an absolute MUST!!!) 

And who doesn't look forward to cuddle time with your little ones?  I LOVE it when my kids wake up at different times so I can enjoy those few precious moments of "cuddle time" with them before we're bombarded by twin #2 and cuddle time turns to fight-over-mommy-wrestling-match time.

And is there anything better than cuddling up with your spouse when you go to bed . . . just good ol' lead-to-nothing-but-dreams cuddling?  There are days where that is the ONLY up-close and personal time I get with my husband (and he falls asleep really FAST, so it only lasts a second and I have to be there BEFORE he falls asleep to get it.  I sometimes leave things undone just to go and cuddle with him before he falls asleep and then get back up once he has fallen asleep to finish my "to-do-before-bed" list . . . but you take what you can get, right? ;-D).  There's a reason I LOVE movie-night date nights even when I hate almost every movie! :-)

Take some time to enjoy the babies and puppies in your life today . . . and give yourself permission to make the time for it, whatever that entails. (Even if it is a REAL puppy or cat or whatever . . . . I'm not judging you!  I'm just sayin'!)