Today is the first day of Coddingtown Mall's annual sidewalk sale. But I'll
come back to that. The dog decided to prance up and down on the bed,
practically on top of my head, while licking my face at 2 am. I assumed she
wanted out, so I stumbled to the door and opened it. She promptly laid down at
my feet and just looked at me. Ooooh-kay. So I check her food and water
bowls. She's got kibble, she's got water. I dunno. So I head back to bed.
The dog is following me like a shadow, and trips me as we near the door to the
bedroom. I fall, spewing half formed vengeful oaths, and manage to wake both
the baby and my 5 year old. Great. The dog darts into the big kids' room and
parks on my son's bed, apparently delighted with herself. I gather up the
baby, who is now chanting "mama!mama!mama!mama!" and my oldest, and shoo them
into my bed, where my husband starts snoring like a buzzsaw. We all settle
down, and then I hear shuffling footsteps, announcing the arrival of my son. He
crawls up next to Daddy. Co sleeping with babies is great. Leggy toddlers with
chest colds, not so much. Clinging to my 6 inches of the mattress edge, I
hear the rhythmic clinking of the dog's tags as she leaps onto the foot of our
bed and snuggles in. Six in the bed, and the little one said: I'm crowded...
We passed the few remaining hours before dawn in a tangle of bodies, and as I
savored my first cup of coffee, I scanned the newspaper and discovered it is
sidewalk sale day at the mall. I love this sale, as they have really strange
things that didn't sell in their season, and really great deals on lots of
things. The strenuous nature of shopping en masse leaves me feeling weak in
the knees. The darn dog, who suffers from separation anxiety somehow knew that
I would be less apt to leave her alone for a few hours if I was not well-rested.
I will not be denied! I will be bold. I will be strong. I will go early
and plan my escape route. I will...shop.