What will be

I think it would be almost impossible to put everything I’m feeling in to words. As it usually is, agility has the impressive power to bring the highest highs on the same day it delivers the lows. Except, I guess I never really felt that low this time around. Saturday was, without a doubt, my favorite day in this sport so far. It wasn’t just because Bolt won a class at tryouts (life-long dream of mine), but it was because of the feeling that came with it. It was because it was achieved alongside friends I’ve had since childhood, with dogs who can all trace their roots back up the same tree. Crossing the line, the feeling of connection, of accomplishment, of pure happiness for my little black dog was amazing. All the hugs (so many hugs!), the kindness, the joy wrapped up in those following few moments made the weekend worth it. It was the epitome for me of why we compete. Why we do these crazy things. It was a moment where everything felt as though it was worth it.

The following runs proved that we still have much to learn. But they also proved that we have grown a lot as a team in the last year. The holes in our training from last year have been closed—but there is still work to do (I think there always will be). I felt like we remained connected throughout the weekend, and we recovered well from our blips. There were moments of miscommunication (oh, how quickly those moments can become a whistle blow), but also many more moments of brilliance.We will work on those things, just as we always have. I know we will continue to grow.

I must, above all, still practice patience.

There is no timeline. Our journey is ours to take, with no prescribed route to follow—we are making our own. I’m not sure what exactly will come next. We’ve travelled to 12 states in less than a year, coast to coast (seriously awesome)—and I know there is still much more adventuring for us to do (so much more). For now we will just be. I’ll try not to over-think and dwell over the what-if’s just yet (shoulder rotation sooner, front instead of rear, blind instead of front, left vs. right side… oh, there’s so many things to consider), it won’t change what is. It won’t change what will be. Instead I’ll take comfort in the fact that there will be more hikes to come, more laughs to share, more friends to share them with, more agility, more things to celebrate, brighter skies, warmer days, and travels to take.

I’m finding that’s what matters in the end anyway.