In the Normal Spot

Last night, this sweet little dog just would not settle down. This hasn't happened in the six weeks we have had him.

I let him out at 12:30. I let him out at 1:30. I let him out at 2:30. It was raining. He just stood there. Anyway.., I was sure he had already done everything a dog can do, so I couldn't figure out what the problem was, except that he just had a passionate desire to stand outside in the rain. I did not have that desire. I repeat, I did NOT have that desire.

Sooo.., this morning I got an e-mail from THGGM asking if I had found Zeke's "gift" yet.

Hmmm. I HAD looked around - just in case - and found nothing. And smelled nothing.

I e-mailed him back and told him that no, I had not found a "gift" and if he had, could he kindly tell me where.

His response was, "In the normal spot". The NORMAL spot? It doesn't seem that it would ever by considered normal to have a dog pooping in the house, although it has happened a few times.

So, I e-mailed him back. "Where is this 'normal' spot?" He responded with, "where he went the last time".

Dear friends. I have not told THGGM about the few accidents that have occurred. How could I possibly know exactly where "the last time" was? And, I've been madly searching everywhere - and this isn't a large house!

Still, I've found nothing.

Then, he CALLS me on the phone. Only his phone hangs up. So I carry the phone around with me all the while looking for the "gift". By now, Zeke has joined in on the excitement and he too is looking. What he was looking for, I do not know, but he seemed to enjoy the hunt a bit more than I was.

The phone rang again, and the first thing I said was "Where did you see this?!" Oh, big surprise here, he said "I told you. In the normal spot."

Anyone else guessing that 'in the normal spot' is not the answer I was looking for? And, as you have most likely figured out, the phone hung up AGAIN. This time, it took him about five minutes to figure out his phone issues and call me back. And I am STILL looking. Finally, we make a clear phone connection. By now I'm just a touch miffed, but I'm sure I'm hiding it well. I ask calmly and with a heart full of love for the man of my dreams, "Where did you see this?"

Anyone want to place bets on his answer? Yup. You are correct. He still answered "In the normal spot, I told you".

A tirade followed. I won't spell it ALL out. But finally, after I twirled about sputtering things like "Why can't you just ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!" which he responded with, believe it or not, "I DID. I told you it was in the normal spot!"

I did FINALLY extract from him that it was in the blue room in front of Zeke's cage.

Well now. I can see how in the dark it MAY have looked like a gift.

But really, it was only a Kellogg's Rice Krispies delivery truck.

This was the excitement of my morning. Well, that and dropping two ice cubes into my orchid which just may be dead.

See? I am really a hopeful person.

And when THGGM gets home from work and asks "What's for dinner?" I'm prepared to respond with "What we had last night."

Well. That will come AFTER I thank him for not picking up the gift and flushing it, since I am aware of how not good that would have been.

But still. Is that something one should thank someone for? Such a conundrum.

So many times in life it would be good to have a word for these kinds of things.

What would one say in this situation?

Thank you for not flushing the truck, but you didn't KNOW it was a truck and you were willing to let what you thought it was sit on the floor of your home?!

I don't know. Maybe we could just begin referring to such situations as "In the normal spot".