Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Winning, Losing, and Sharing

(Note: You know you have a problem when you are laying in bed at 2:30 am and think, I really should write a post about that on my blog!)

You might wonder what these three have in common, and I will get around to making a connection. As I do, I ask that you be patient and let me explain where I am coming from.

Like anyone I would rather win than lose. I grew up in a competitive family, sometimes you won and sometimes you lost. As I got older I learned that you shouldn't rub your competitor's nose in a loss. Thankfully, I also learned the art to losing gracefully. But as I said, I would rather win than lose!

I will also confess that I can be a little stuck in my ways. I guess that happens when you have been on your own for the last 10 years. I have had roommates off and on, and you have to learn to share certain things. However, you always have that place that is just yours. For example, your room. In that room are other things that I don't like to share. My toothbrush is one. (I still have issues from one of the last times I was at my parents' house and found my brother using my tooth brush!) I think that is pretty understandable, but what I have in mind may sound a little unusual. The vast majority of it has to do with the fact that I don't have the habit of sharing this particular item. Hopefully the time will come when that changes, but it isn't an issue right now. (However, that is a whole different issue.)

When I agreed to dog sit for my roommate, I informed her that I wouldn't be sharing this particular item and I meant it. Friday night I was put to the test. Would I win or would I lose? It was late (2 am for those of you who are interested) and I was tired (I mean it was 2 am)! I put the dog's bed in my room and climbed into my own. The test began. The pawing, the crying, and whining. Would I give in? Remember I don't always share well. I held strong, but it continued. No, I wouldn't cave that easy...then it hit me. This could go on for a while. I did cave and shared. I lost, and not gracefully this time. There I was at 3 am, sharing my bed with a Daschund!



Each night after I would try to trick her so I would not have to share. Saturday I was very successful when she feel asleep in her bed (seen above) in the living room. I left the door to my room open in case something went wrong. At 4:30 am she wandered in and again I caved. Sunday and Monday did not go so well and shared the entire night.

You might wonder what are my issues? First, the dog liked to cuddle. Second, she snored. Third, she did not share the bed. On Monday I woke up and she had 3/4 of the bed, while I, the human being, had 1/4 of the bed.

All this made me begin to think what it would be like to be married. It didn't help that several people also asked me this question. I don't have an answer, but I have a feeling I will figure it out. Morning breath has to better than doggie breath!

What does winning, losing, and sharing have in common? They are all part of relationships. (At least they do from this single person's perspective.)

8 comments:

JEff said...

umm ... I don't remember being told you had a blog again!

Jane said...

I told Abbey! I wondered why I hadn't seen you on here. I am so sorry that things weren't communicated clearly.

CoachK said...

I can relate to the animial in the bed situation. My daughters cat tried to snuggle with me when I stayed with her for a couple nights. No dog breath but lots of purring and incredibly hot. Just to ease your mind for future plans it is different than a human being there. (:

Meems said...

i've related my dogsitting miniature dachshund- want to be in the bed with you story already. but i can vouch for marriage snuggling and it is quite something to look forward to.

as for winning, losing and sharing-yes, involved in all relationships-we call it compromise.

Meems said...

BTW- i like the changes on your profile.

Jane said...

princessk- I have that experience as well...I did better with that one, but maybe it was because it was cold! Glad you are feeling better.

meems- I love the fact that you notice changes. It is half the fun! I thought about calling the post "Compromise" but decided against it at the last minute. ;)

MLM said...

Um, not to gross you out, but morning breath is WAY WORSE than doggie breath. (At least mine is.)

And I woke up in the middle of the night last night with absolutely zero (ZERO) covers on and I had to yank them out of my husband's vise grip. He never woke up, but if you asked him who the cover-stealer is, he'd swear it was me. (Yah, right!)

Anyway, you are correct. Winning, Losing, Sharing---and sometimes all at once.

Anonymous said...

JAne....sleeping with a dog? I'm speechless