2017: Catching Lightening one Moment at a Time.
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
No, wait. That's Dickens. Though I love to quote literary greats, this is our narrative. These are our quotes. Our paw prints over the last 365 days: 365 days in the lives of the Fifty Seven Musketeers.
2017 was our first full year without Buffy and Dylan, but it was also our first full year with Henry and Gus. And, for the most part, it was a great year. The theme keeps repeating itself, but every day it holds true: we catch lightening in a bottle. Or, we try to, anyway. In this journey of ours, we've figured out that the small moments -- in their own space and time -- are far more important than the big ones. Lost in the moments of a hike...or playtime in the back yard any given evening...or the thirty seconds we run as one on an agility course, no matter the outcome. This year -- our first year in several where loss has not been an overwhelming theme -- we have learned to treasure the moments we'd often overlooked in the past as unimportant or insignificant, because these moments are neither of those things. The sum total of these little moments ... just "being"... and immersing ourselves completely in them, adds to something much, much greater.
Finding bliss in a simple leaf game.
Looking back, I can't really think of a single grand extraordinary moment of this past year, because we've allowed ourselves to treasure so many magical little moments that all of them have mattered. Happiness has been a perpetual, ongoing thing, because we've chosen to keep it that way. Because we've chosen to adjust our perspective. Because we've chosen to find happiness amongst the mundane.
Hammonasset State Park, CT. March, 2017
2017 had us, among other things:
- Discovering Patapsco State Park's McKeldin area on an unseasonably warm February Day;
- Visiting friends in Connecticut in March, and despite the snow and cold, enjoying time at Hammonasset State Park (and Gus taking an impromptu dip in the Long Island Sound);
- Taking day trips to Assateague Island State Park, for no other reason than because the boys love playing on the beach;
- Lighting "sprinklers" (ok, sparklers) in memory of a dear friend who left us before we were able to celebrate the Fourth of July with him;
- Celebrating Henry's birthday, complete with party hats;
- Enjoying each and every agility class;
- Delighting in sunrise walks on the beach at the Isle of Palms;
- Making new friends with wonderful people -- all because we share a common love for a certain breed of dog;
- Helping friends we now consider family;
- Finding bliss in a pile of leaves;
- Earning Ribbons -- YES, we have agility ribbons!
Proud of himself after doing the "Triple Lindy" into the Long Island Sound on a VERY cold March morning.
Work is always going to be there. Traffic. Bills. The stress of law. These things aren't going away. I still get irritated by my day job. Solving other peoples' problems is exhausting. Dealing with people who, no matter what, never allow themselves to be happy is a side effect of my profession. Getting daily phone calls from people who expect free legal advice instantly over the phone has gotten old.
There are always going to be things we cannot change. But, what losing Buffy and then going into 2017 with the gift of two amazing furry gentlemen has taught me is that we can adjust how we deal with the negative. Perspective is everything. I've been trying to leave the work stress at the office each day. Am I perfect? No. But I'm working on it. I've chosen to try to catch lightening, even though I may not always succeed.
I wish all of my friends and family a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year. May 2018 continue to allow us to enjoy the simple things, and thank you all for being in our lives.
