Sparky looks so alert, focused and competent.

He wasn’t always like this.

l was woken  up at 6 am this morning.  It was the kind of rain you get camping, where it’s light and steady, with occasional short, intense downpours. 

It wasn’t the rain that got me up.  The sound of rain encourages me to stay in bed.  I got up because I could feel Sparky not staring at me.  It’s like he desperately wanted my attention, then suddenly went silent.

Remember how Obi-wan felt when the empire destroyed Alderaan?

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened.

Like that, but without the fear that something terrible happened, just that I should do something.

When I got up, Sparky was trying to look nonchalant as he sat on a pile of laundry in the closet.

Yeah, fine, I understand the assignment.  I need two more hours of sleep, but I moved to Sparky’s couch bed in the solarium.  I dozed for a while, and when I woke up, Sparky was sitting guard duty.

No, you don’t understand.  Dogs and babies understand cameras and respond to them.  Sparky didn’t move or react.  I am clumsy with my phone, but took several photos of his silent vigil.

Since Sparky was keeping me safe from rabbits or storm sprites or flooding, I went back to sleep.

When I woke up later, it was blue-sky sunny, and Sparky had felt it was safe to stand down.

Well, good for him.  I wouldn’t tell Sparky this, but ever since I renovated that couch, it hasn’t been good for human sleeping.  My bones felt like they had gotten soft, and reformed in unfamiliar ways.

Sparky is fine, I’ll be fine, so I took one last photo.

It’s times like this when I wonder why I ever wanted to get rid of my belly.