This weekend was our first real break from agility trials since April. I’ve overbooked myself for this spring and summer, something I do quite frequently. I don’t do well sitting still; I have a restless mind, and a more restless soul. I always feel the need to be on the move, or to be doing something… anything. Maybe that’s why Bolt and I connect so well. Maybe it’s why I’ve added so many miles to my car…
Our break didn’t consist of much relaxing, but it was refreshing. We even slept in! (8AM is sleeping in, isn’t it?) Joe and I spent Friday night with good friends at Fenway– timeless, beautiful, electric (and rainy) Boston. My voice is still strained from my uncontrollable baseball fanaticism. I may have inadvertently taught a young boy to chant slightly inappropriate things (his father approved with a fist-bump). There were fights and extra innings and a walk-off. Entirely successful night. The weekend also unfolded with perfect weather, and blue skies. There were hikes, and runs on the beach, fires, long walks, cliffs to sit atop and clear pools to splash through.
It was also a week of change, small change but change none the less. Anyone who knows me well knows I don’t do well with change: in fact, I usually meet it kicking and screaming, digging in my heels, clawing to get back to where I was. Or something like that anyway. On Wednesday I cut about 6 inches of hair away and, for the first time ever, didn’t panic over it. There it was, hair strewn about the floor, sort of new face staring back in the mirror. I’ve done this many times before: hair grows out far too long, I chop it off and subsequently have nightmares about it for weeks. Not this time. Maybe I really am getting older. Happy quarter century to me.
The next amazing thing that happened was getting my Canon. I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but for many years photography was a huge part of what I did outside of agility. It was a source of adventure, and exploration and a way to create, and separate myself from whatever stresses were around. I lost touch with that side a few years ago– funny how life can get in the way of living– and I hadn’t been able to justify getting a new dSLR since. Sometimes you need that push though, and that’s what life gave me: a push. So yes, I made a sort of selfish, expensive, unnecessary purchase. But maybe not. Maybe necessary for me. Maybe being a little selfish now and again is okay. Maybe I’m getting back to where I needed to be, or if not going back, changing for the better.
Three more weeks of agility before us: let’s go.
Unstoppable Dogs 