Like all dogs, Moxie loves her walks like nobody’s business. We cover the same ground day after day, yet she approaches every flower, each blade of tree trunks, with such curiosity and excitement, as if she’s never been down that road before. Then, of course, she pees on them, which always cracks me up. This flower smells so good... sniff, sniff, sniff... I know just the thing to make it perfect.... Short of leaving her mark on everything we pass, my little dog has inspired me to also appreciate things along the way – the squirrels in the trees, the ducks bathing in the lake, the way the palms move in the breeze. She stops to notice so many things that I am forced to notice as well.
Now we get to do that one extra time every day! When it’s dark outside, 7-8 PM is merely Clean the Kitchen and Watch Jeopardy Hour or Go Through the Junk Mail Hour. But now I have the opportunity to press pause. The added daylight allows for nightly after-dinner walks. My husband will join, as he also doesn’t feel the urge to get things done before dark. We go to the park and walk the trail for about an hour each night. The dishes and the mail don’t go anywhere, and the TV can be recorded, so our walks literally become an extra hour in the day that we spend together talking and sharing things that would normally be shelved for the weekend – when we have “time.” And likely by Friday most of the little nuances of daily life would seem insignificant, so they would be forgotten. Admittedly, when the alarm sounds on March 13th, I may be tempted to complain (as if Monday doesn’t come soon enough!) But I will look over at my little dog on her pillow, eyes staring up at me with impatient wonder, and I will look forward to the added hours at the end of the day.