We, as humans, probably don’t deserve this type of love. The type of unflinching pure love like they talk about in fairy tales, where someone is willing to go to the literal ends of the earth to prove themselves. Humans, as a species, aren’t especially great. We’re filled with faults, but the love never ebbs. It remains as strong as ever, never wavering, never questioning – always completely pure.
Tam showed me the quote from this story a little bit ago, and I thought it was cute. Children frequently give us a fresh, innocent, view of the world, something many of us have long lost the ability to do. Often they give us a whimsical observation (I saw someone mention their daughter proudly exclaiming that she “farted in [her] butt”), but there are times where the youth and innocence of the observer belie the wisdom and depth of their comment. I thought the quote was cute, at the time I didn’t realize how poignant it would turn out to be.
I’ll never forget it… I was sleeping soundly one night, oblivious to the world around me, dreaming about whatever I was dreaming of that night, when suddenly I was snapped back into consciousness. It was an odd feeling, it wasn’t like I was jolted awake, where you jump up in your bed, or your eyes snap open to see what’s going on. One second I was deep asleep, my subconscious filling my head with various images and sounds as my brain processed the day, and then suddenly I was pulled into reality, but not in the typical panic-y way that happens when you’re rudely awakened.
Milo isn’t too fond of a camera in his face when he’s trying to sleep.
It wasn’t a sound or motion which woke me, those usually prompt an “OMGWHATISTHAT” type of waking up. It was a smell. A really foul smell to be precise. I immediately knew where it came from, considering the source had been peeling paint for almost his entire life, so I laid with my eyes closed waiting for the smell to dissipate. What felt like minutes passed, but the smell hadn’t faded. My thoughts shifted from waiting for a smell to pass, to worrying about having to clean up a mess, so I slowly opened my eyes. I first noticed a strange black shape in front of my face, but it was hard to make out precisely what it was. I squinted, waiting for my eyes to clarify the world around me… and when they eventually did, the horrifying truth became evident.
An inch or so in front of me was a stubby black tail. So my initial hunch was correct, what I was smelling was a fart. What I didn’t expect was the fact the fart’s source was about 3 inches from my nose.
Milo, my lovable little jerk of a Boston Terrier, had literally farted in my face.
