The Coffee Monkey

 Our old dog passed on a while ago, so we've got a new dog now.  By new, I mean new to us.  It is a puppy and we are its first owners, but it's basically the same "old" type of dog that will learn only the standard "old" tricks.  We have been teaching the dog to sit, stay, speak, and shake hands.  But I know in my heart I will never be able to teach it to make the morning coffee.  In a way, that is fine because I learned something about my marriage after our old dog died.

 I've been married to Marsha, the love of my life, for 33 years.  As our children are five years apart, we've found ourselves still raising kids into this 21st century.  Last winter our old dog passed away at age 15 (105 in dog years).  Our kids had always had that dog around, so the loss left a big gap when they visit.  This spring our daughter, who is our last child at home and a junior in high school, suggested we get another dog.  I said maybe we'd think about it - and added under my breath "but not very hard" as I mentally calculated how long we'd have the dog after our daughter leaves home.  But for several weeks she kept bringing up the subject whenever she'd run into me in the kitchen during her mad morning dash to grab breakfast and head off to school.

 I am in the habit of getting up each morning and fixing the coffee for Marsha and myself.  When our old dog was still alive, I'd also let it out and dish up the dog food while I waited for the coffee to finish perking.  Then I'd glance at the weekly calendar on the 'fridge to see if I needed to get down one, or two, coffee mugs.  Marsha had recently taken on a new job where she sometimes worked an early schedule, and sometimes late.  On mornings when she could sleep in, she liked to take her coffee later.  One morning as I got up I joked that maybe instead of getting a dog, we should get a monkey and train it to make the morning coffee.  As I exited the bedroom and headed for the kitchen, Marsha's voice, muffled by the covers snuggled over her head, echoed after me, "I do have a trained monkey that makes the morning coffee!"  I smiled, happy to know she still appreciates me after all these years. 

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