Morning Routine

When Dog the Cat,

Was a mere …

Puppy the Kitten,

We started what became our morning routine:

Wake up,

Start the coffee,

Clean his litter box,

Prepare his breakfast,

Check the weather,

I go back the bedroom with coffee to read emails, news …

While he has breakfast.

After he finishes breakfast,

He runs as fast as he can into the bedroom,

Barks for me to lift him up on the bed,

Which I do,

Then we finger wrestle.

He bites my finger with his tiny little puppy kitten teeth,

And I say “Ow ow ow … kisses, not bites”,

At which point he starts giving me kisses and licks me with his tongue of coarse sandpaper.

I always wondered why he seems to understand the word kisses.

Fast forward eight years and only a few things have changed.

We still:

Wake up,

Start the coffee,

Clean his litter box,

Prepare his breakfast,

Check the weather,

I go back the bedroom with coffee to read emails, news …

While he has breakfast.

After he finishes breakfast,

He run as fast as he can into the bedroom,

But now …

Since he has grown into a full-fledged, adult Dog the Cat …

He does not need any assistance getting up on the bed.

Now he enters the bedroom at a quick clip,

Running that borders on a gallop.

Rounds the bed,

Hops up on the ottoman in stride,

Projects onto the chair,

Elevates off the night stand,

And goes airborne,

After which all 42 inches, 20 plus pounds of him lands on my belly.

Yes, you definitely feel it when he lands.

He will then lay still next to me for a couple of seconds before …

Hopping back up and going all krazy bites on my arm,

Like he used to do with my finger,

Until I say “Ow ow ow … kisses, not bites”,

At which point he immediately starts licking me with his tongue of coarse sandpaper.

It’s still weird to me,

How he seems to understand the word kisses.

I love our Morning Routine.

Though I really should have put a bit more long term routine thinking into our early days together,

As my arms are littered with Dog The Cat teeth marks.