Without Gus, what joy would I know?

Sarcastic title, yes, but without my little Gussy, I wouldn’t know that at 3:30 a.m., the moon is positioned just perfectly above the house to reflect its splendor off the white flagstones in our patio. I also wouldn’t know that at 3:30 a.m., dogs prefer to urinate right next to the house on the glowing-in-the-moonlight patio instead of in the slightly moist grass. I wouldn’t know that I have the capability to actually appreciate any of God’s creation in the middle of the night and that I would actually consider getting the camera to take a picture of it. I didn’t get the camera, but just the fact that I thought of it is startling. I wouldn’t know that after being interrupted from the most wonderful dream, I have the ability to talk baby talk to Gus to get him to come back to bed, bribing him with words like “Come on Gussy Wussy, come back to bed with Mommy, aren’t you sleepy baby?” I also wouldn’t know that I can become a complete dog-serving idiot when I really shouldn’t care if Gus comes back to bed or not. And since when is Gus a “sleepy baby?” He’s a dog, which I think I sometimes forget especially at 3:30 in the morning when all I want is for him to snuggle up next to me and for his head to be in a perfect position so that he isn’t snoring, but that I can still hear him breathing and he also needs to have his tail curled in a way that it is not in my face or hitting my arm.