Tail wagging happiness

I watched my dog as she slept today and she was wagging her tail in her sleep. It must have been a good dream to bring such tail wagging happiness. It wasn’t always this way for her having spent the first 5 years of her life with the oppressive #3 as her "master". Damn him for messing up so many lives around me.

He pushed my son around and slapped him from time to time unknown to me. I heard this from Buddy after #3 and I split, and again from Buddy’s counselor because of his delicate emotional state with Asperer’s. I assured her Buddy and I had no more contact with #3 and the bastard could rot in Hel for a long time for his indiscretions against Buddy and me.

I have become a survivor in the sense that I have my protective nature about me to keep me and Buddy from any more harm. Hubby understands this and is trying to keep things level for all of us. I did have to remind Hubby recently that he needs to try and teach Buddy rather than harass or yell at him for things he sees as wrong. He understands but since he’s never been a father figure before, he struggles with the idea of being a role model for a teenager who has troubles with communication. I have to pull Hubby back from time to time and remind him what an Asperger’s mind is like and how to better communicate with him. He tries valiantly to understand and tries to follow my model more.

Hubby and I have been married for 5.5 months now and most of that time has been tail wagging happy. He understands me, talks to me about everything, trusts me implicitly and tries to work through things amicably. His #3 was a shrew and diva and tested him beyond his limits. A mutual friend of theirs revealed that she was witness to many of their out and out screaming sessions. It must have been so hard for him since he rarely raises his voice now.

My marriage to Hubby has been good, starting our relationship as friends and slowly growing until we were both single and looked at each other renewed. Even then, we started slowly as not to rush into something we couldn’t handle and our love and friendship continues to grow each day. I don’t have to fear what he will say or how he will react to things like I did with #2 and #3. He has never raised his voice to me and we’ve only had one disagreement and we resolved that on short order. I see the building blocks of a great relationship in "us" and have no fears about the future.

I see in my dog a growing of trust just as I did for me. She now loves her new family dynamic and loves her puppy sister and respects Hubby very much. She has blossomed in ways that are impossible to measure except when I see that tail wagging, in the middle of her dreams. I too feel that happiness and know that it’s a strong and lasting bond.

J