March 07, 2007
Half a Year
It's been a little more than six months since Scout showed up on my porch, tail wagging and smiling. I should have known then that she was trouble. No one is that happy.
It's been a huge adjustment (I'd completely forgotten how hard puppies are), and I've had to change a lot of my habits. Now, on the nights I have small group, but want to go the gym in between, I have to go home on my lunch break. Montego could go three days sleeping on the couch without going outside (okay, not literally, but she can go from dawn to well after dusk no problem), but not Scout. Scout needs to JUMP. She needs to twirl and chase her tail and stop frozen in her tracks by a cat or a squirrel.
But it hasn't been all sacrifice. I picked up some new beneficial habits as well, like a two-mile walk every Saturday morning in the park with my friend Lauren before coffee and a few hours in the dog park where Scout can run free, free, free. She is always one of the fastest dogs there and Lauren and I joke that she is on Host Team, as Scout loves to hang out by the gate and welcome dogs into the park.
Last Friday I left work a bit early so I could take them on a decent walk before driving back up to Midtown for the "How Great is Our God" concert. My backyard is fenced in on both sides (neighbor fences), but not across the back (where it bleeds into woods) or across the front where the driveway is. But sometimes-when I'm feeling brave-I'll stand on the driveway and let Scout loose in the back. It was beautiful last week - sunny blue skies and warm breezes - and Scout sped through our yard like a maniac, picking up sticks and tossing them in the air and literally prancing around like a fawn who has just found its legs.
That night Chris Tomlin sang a song with a line about how every creature will praise God and I got tears in my eyes, thinking about Scout earlier that afternoon tearing around our yard, a representation of pure joy. I imagined her shouting, "God - you make the BEST STICKS!" And I realize that makes me crazy and weird, but it also makes me laugh. I wish I had as much joy as this puppy. As much praise for a God who not only made the best sticks, but who also made the best family and the best friends and the best stars and sky and the best life.
On Sunday my friend Mary hugged me and said that something must be going on with me, because "You're glowing and gorgeous!" My life is bursting right now and I can barely stand it. My brother and his wife are expecting (again!), and my recently-engaged cousin Colleen asked me to be her maid of honor. It is my greatest honor to be able to stand up for her as she makes this huge commitment and life change. When she asked me she told me that I am the sister of her heart and that no matter where we are in the world, our souls are connected. That makes sense, I suppose, as our mothers are tethered by a soul connection I couldn't begin to decipher or describe.
Because of Scout, I met a new person, and he is remarkable. That's about all I will say about that.
2007 left 2006 in the dust and I don't know what it is: this new decade of thirtysomethingness; this new puppy; new responsibilities; a renewed commitment to and passion for the Satisfier. I don't know what it is, but I like it.
Posted by hannah at 03:54 PM
