"I think we should talk about the elephant in the room," said my husband.

"What are you talking about?" I asked innocently.

"The elephant... on the couch," he said.

I glanced over at the couch. Propped up in the corner was our new throw pillow. It was taupe and white and complemented the couch beautifully. It also happened to have elephants all over it.

"What about it?"

"Why do we have a pillow with elephants all over it?" he said.

I walked over to the couch and fluffed the pillow. All the elephants perked up nicely, as linen elephants are apt to do when you fluff them.

"I thought it was cute and the room needed a little touch of something interesting."

"And we think elephants are interesting?" he said.

"Yes, we do," I said.

When I saw this pillow show up in my Pinterest feed, it was love at first elephant. It's not that I have an elephant obsession or anything, but this particular pillow called to me. It was the perfect color for the room, and I thought the elephants added a nice whimsical touch. Apparently though, my husband felt otherwise, and it was possible we were headed for an elephant-sized showdown.

"It's not this one elephant pillow that concerns me," he said. "I'm afraid this could be the beginning of a trend. Today elephant pillows in the living room. Tomorrow penguin quilts in the bedroom. Soon we'll have zebra print wallpaper covering the bathroom and a llama in the backyard. Then it's just a matter of time before the town comes after us because we aren't zoned for a drive-thru safari in our neighborhood."

"I didn't think one elephant pillow was a big deal," I replied.

"I just don't see what you like about it so much," he said. "Maybe it's a guy thing, but I just don't get the elephants."

"They're gentle-looking and aesthetic," I said. "And, also, they make me feel skinny."

"What?"

"Well, you know, if I'm having a bad day, I can look over at the elephant pillow and think, 'At least I'm not as big as an elephant.'"

He looked at me blankly.

I realized I needed to find a way to convince my husband it was in our best interest to keep the elephant pillow. Clearly, trying to convince him that the pillow was an appealing addition to our living room was not the answer. Nor would he buy into the fact that having an elephant pillow would help raise awareness for the plight of elephants with an abundance of chin hair (yes, that is a thing, and something that I can personally relate to). I also didn't think it would help to point out that the pillow was just the right size to smother someone who didn't like the pillow as much as I did.

Not that I would ever think that.

Then I had a jolt of inspiration.

"You know," I said. "This elephant pillow is the perfect size and just the right amount of support for a really good couch nap."

My husband eyed the elephant pillow suspiciously. He looked at me. He looked back at the pillow. Then he slid across the couch, fluffed the pillow, swung his legs up on the couch and lay his head down on the pillow.

"You know what? You're right," he said. "This IS a great nap pillow!"

"Great!" I said, "Now let's talk about the emu salt and pepper shakers I just got."

Tracy Beckerman is the author of the Amazon Bestseller, "Barking at the Moon: A Story of Life, Love, and Kibble," available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online! You can visit her at www.tracybeckerman.com.

Photo credit: Stephanie Harvey at Unsplash