Nurse Liesl

I never fail to be surprised by the amount of empathy and compassion that animals can show when you are sick or in pain.  Sometimes it is more than you can even find in humans.  Yesterday morning I woke up with a rotten headache that lasted all day.   Headaches are rare occurrences for me so I figured it was stress related from all the stuff I had to get done yesterday.  I came home and went to bed early with my book.  I was asleep by 8:30.  I woke up at 10:15 sick as can be with stomach flu.  Liesl followed me down the hall and stayed with me for the worst of it, looking a bit worried.  She stayed glued to me the rest of the night and laid absolutely still on the bed next to me.  I was still feeling a bit yucky this morning and she stayed close and quiet.  We both were feeling better after a nap this afternoon.  I am impressed how dogs and cats take their job as nurse so seriously.  It is funny how they always know when we are feeling better, too, and go on about their business.

I am happy to say that it was just a 24 hour bug and I feel so much better.  I was able to do a little light puttering around the house this afternoon after my nap.  I got my shoe organizers put together and cleared a lot of real estate on my closet floor as a result.  It looks so organized. I organized my bedroom a bit more, too. I also changed the shower head in my bathroom so that bath time will be a little easier for Liesl with the new handheld shower spray.  The weather was gorgeous today so I even pulled weeds for about ten minutes just to get some fresh air.  

It is funny how much time I spend thinking about all of the stuff I want to do on my house.  I will be walking by something and I will think to myself, "You know what would look good there..."  I am thinking about the yard these days.  Right now it has low maintenance plants, but I am thinking that I would like to create a cottage garden feel.  I want to put in sod so that Liesl will have a grassy play space that is all hers to roll around in.  It is so nice to have the freedom to make my house and yard exactly what I want them to be.  It is a slow process, but is a lot of fun.

I love this part of the day when the house is totally quiet.  The neighborhood is totally silent and everyone is in for the night.  I feel so peaceful and relaxed.  I made myself comfort food for dinner, have on my warmest jammies and a great library book at the ready.  Liesl is tucked in, relieved of her nursing duties and is dreaming about chasing squirrels.  It feels like paradise.  As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home."