Dead Tired

At 6:15 sharp on week days, my alarm goes off and Shea pops up and is eager to go out for our morning run. To my astonishment, this morning my energizer puppy didn't move one bit. In fact, when I looked at him, his eyes were open, staring at nothing in particular. Not flinching as I moved.

Fear penetrated my very core as I looked at my pup and realized he was dead. Not dead as in dead tired. Dead as in his heart was not pumping and his lungs not bringing in oxygen (please forgive me for the references, we are working on the body systems right now in fifth grade). 

Shea has lain like this before. Usually, before I let panic set in, I check to see if his chest is moving, breathing. It is always a visible thing. 

I could not see the rise and fall of his chest. So, I jumped up and shook Shea. It was the only thing I could think of in my slight panic. The big guy moved and looked at me like I was nuts. He was not happy I had woken him from his slumber. I felt bad, but at the same time, was relieved my guy was not stone-cold dead like I had thought. 

I can't help but worry about my future children's lives. I know when they are babies I will be waking them up at least every hour to make sure they are alive. Apparently, I can no longer make fun of my mother for her Shea death-scare. 

When She Thought Shea was Dead

Maybe I am just paranoid. Probably. But, Jeff may also be to blame. He has brainwashed me, always telling me how Shea, at 2 and a half years old is on his last legs.