A beautiful evening was taking shape here in Nashville…
Our son was in bed. I had finished my evening errands. With “mild” temperatures in the mid 80s — “mild” considering the high 90s we’ve had for several weeks in a row — I headed outside to spend some time reading on the back patio. (I could feel the tension drain from my body just thinking about it!)
As I was getting my chair set up, I noticed that it was very quiet — normally I would hear our dog rustling through the grass. I looked up… no sign of her. I scanned the back fence… no sign of her. The gate! I looked to my right and sure enough the gate was open — agh!
Scanning the surrounding yards, I spotted her — there was our happy-go-lucky Goldendoodle in the yard directly behind our house. I don’t know about your dog, but with our dog, I knew that locating her was only a sliver of the battle… she doesn’t respond to the “come” command — not when she’s found freedom. I had to find a way to get her back into our yard.
I tried throwing the tennis ball. Boring, she seemed to say.
I quickly headed inside to get the frisbee, knowing that would be a treat for her.
When I returned and held the frisbee high in the air, sure enough, she started coming my way. I turned and began walking toward the gate to meet her there. When I looked back, this time she was totally gone from sight! Oh boy…
No need to continue with the play-by-play — fast forward and Lulu’s back home resting tonight… tired from chasing a Yorkie-Poo, playing with some kids, jumping up on a woman, and running halfway around the neighborhood (before the saga came to an end).
But what about me? So much for my moment to enjoy some nice weather and reading time on the patio.
Have you ever had such a moment stolen from you?
Of course you have. As they say, “life” happens.
So what do we do?
We can huff and puff and steam and fret about how “this always happens.”
We can lament what might have been.
We can pout for the rest of the night.
Or we can find the positives and be grateful.
The choice is always ours.
What was good about my dog running away? Well, I got a little exercise chasing her. She got a lot of exercise running around (so I don’t have to walk her). I met some very pleasant neighbors. Some kids got to meet a very happy dog. I still got to enjoy the nice evening air. And combined with the activity, that gave me a burst of energy for the remainder of the evening.
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? It may have even turned out better than if I had things my way.
It’s all about how you look at it.
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