Incessant Need

I'm sick. Cold, bronchitis, the works. This is day four. I'm feeling better than the weekend, but not good necessarily. I just worked 12 hours and spent 40 minutes on the phone walking my mother through an online transaction. One of my cats is meowing incessantly at me. I know all I have to do is go upstairs and see what it wants. It will walk right to either food, water or window. Easy fix. But I am downstairs, and tired and annoyed. One of my dogs whined and barked at me while I was on the phone with my mother, incessantly, so that I had to hang up with her to deal with her need. So I called NICJ to take her out. He did, I called mom back, fine. NICJ brought the dog back in and she bumps me, and whines and runs for the door and jumps on me - leaving mud streaks down my pants. I pet her, not enough. I pet her some more, not enough. She jumps on me again. Now I am SO irritated that I am cussing. (The neverending meower has come downstairs now to get my attention. I have just let him out the front door. Quiet at last.) Back to the dog - so NICJ can hear me cussing all the way outside. He comes in and takes her back outside. I am now tense, mud-smeared and annoyed. And I know that the very thing that irritated me tonight is the thing that endears me to my pets on most days - the neverending love and devotion, the need for my affection, the communicative ability of my pets - all this makes me smile and laugh and enjoy them. Tonight, I could smother them and feel only relief. I know it's the claustrophobia from my cold and the asthma...but I am glad they are now out, leaving me blissfully alone within.

There are just some days when as much as I love my pets, I can so see the appeal of being a petless person. No dirt, no pet hair, no whining, no love and affection and neverending devotion. Yeah, I'll never be a petless person. But a little distance is okay too.