Saturday, April 27, 2013

Pink Boots and Metaphorical Life Lessons, thanks to um, well Dog Poop.

I have beautiful pink rubber boots. At least they WERE clean. Now they have been broken in and used to clean up the yard.  I will spare you the pictures as I should have taken a photo of the boots before I went to the yard!

It's the first really beautiful day we have had this spring- like REALLY beautiful, wear short sleeves and sweat hard while cleaning the yard.  I couldn't help but smile and think, yeah.  Life is good!  Even though I have a tiny yard that has been under snow for 6 months, and also own 4 dogs. Yeah. That's LOADS of presents out there for me.

Despite the presents and the fact that they are starting to smell a little, I still couldn't help coming back to my life. I just spent 5.5 days at a Retreat; a renewal seminar. It was 5.5 days of what I consider to be my personal hell but also my personal heaven. We spent the whole time in intensive group therapy.  I needed it more than I could have known. I have long kept parts of myself isolated from the rest of me; I prefer to keep my personal life away from my professional life for example. Or my spirituality away from my dog world. But, I am tired of that. Time to integrate the blogs all down into one and be integrated.  I learned that this week.

I also learned that I CAN clean up my own personal messes and have a happy, whole life. It is possible to work through what I have to work through and smile through the tears. It's good. I couldn't help but think I am metaphorically cleaning up the dog presents in my own life as I am physically cleaning the yard.  Life is good.

So good, I even asked my doctor about going off all my meds. It might just be time to spread my wings and see if I can fly.  Or, face my anxiety without medication. Or, face my IBS (newly diagnosed and on a very strict diet for- no more gluten, no more dairy and I have a gut that feels GREAT!).  Anyway, face my IBS without meds. Just dietary interventions.  I think I can do it.

I think I can lay on my back and watch my kite fly high in the sky, proudly.  Yup, lessons learned from therapy.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Simple things bring simple pleasure

It has been a very emotionally moody sort of day.  I went to Oprah last night and was motivated, inspired and taught about finding one's purpose in life and living in it.  That high was quickly squashed with the bombing of the Boston Marathon.  I have no words to describe the grief I feel for the people affected.  Another tragedy in a complex, unpredictable world.

 But when I struggle, I come back to the simple things in life.

Spring. My dogs. My yard. My piano.

All these things help me slow down and refocus my attention into living gratefully in the moment.

So, when I had an opportunity to catch my dogs wandering and sun bathing in the weak spring sun, I had to try for photos.  We still have TONS of snow, but it's coming along.  And, with that realization is the joy of knowing my yard will soon be full of green growing things.
 (And, the horrifying realization that I have a winters full of clean up to do. You do the math:  4 dogs, 1 small yard, no cleanup most of the winter= NIGHTMARES! Ha, ignore any potential sightings of doggy doo doo in the pictures, I promise you all I will start the massive clean up tomorrow).


Sophie, coming in to say hello through the window. Yes, there is NO screen there. Yes, the dogs wrecked it last summer. Yes, I am crazy enough to put one back this summer. 


Sophie loving the sun beam.  (Please ignore the winter gunk to be cleaned off my deck. This is getting scrubbed down and refinished this summer.  It needs some stain for sure).


Reason, wandering around sniffing on the snowy half a yard.


Spikey, lying in the sun, by the tunnel.  Sorry he is hardly visible, but he avoids the camera at the best of times.  Murphy is next to him the grass, out of sight of the camera. She was avoiding me at this point; she had just tried to jump through the window and come in but was forcefully stopped by a spray of water to her little face and she marched off, out of sight to pout indignantly. 


Another image of my long but narrow lot.  

Spring is coming, I am sure of that.  And, with anticipation, I am filling out the first of my trial entries for the outdoor agility season tonight. There is a simple joy and hope in that.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Sleeping Beauties....

My girlies, napping....


Murphy..... so sweet when she is sleeping!



Sophie in the chair- (ignore the mess!! :) )


Reason, in a rare moment when she has stopped moving, all sleepy on the back of the couch.

Love my girlies!