The Happiness of Routine

I think I was gone from home about half of the time (or more) between Labor Day and Columbus Day. I am grateful for all the opportunities I had but I am glad to be home. I now have about five weeks ahead of me before I leave Albuquerque again– the longest stretch since February of this year! What I missed most in my routine is what I actually dread most when I drag myself out of bed in the dark and coolness of the morning– running and walking the dogs. While I hate peeling myself out of my warm bed and know that I have about an hour and twenty minutes of constant movement ahead of me, I miss it more than anything when I'm away. Many times we forget to appreciate our routines because in some ways they can become monotonous and even drudgery when we do them everyday for months on end (or years!). But when they are taken away from us, we miss them. The key is to enjoy each moment we are in them which we should be doing anyway– life is about the present even though we must plan for the future. I love being out in the quiet of the morning, especially now that it's darker so fewer people out (I think a record number of people walked/ran around the park by my house this past summer) and the dogs and I can enjoy "taking our steps" as the run rising, something the Navajos believe is important to greet each day.

Michelle’s Thoughts About Coping With Daisy’s Terminal Cancer Appears In High Desert Dog Magazine

While I’m traveling to Canada and Washington, DC, here’s my article that appears in the current issue of High Desert Dog magazine, www.highdesertdog.com (page 45) about lessons learned from Daisy’s terminal cancer.