Tag Archives: Joy

Goals for the New Year

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, , , , , , , , , , ,
Journal illustration
Happy 2024!

Now that all the hubbub from the holidays is dying down, it is setting in that the new year is upon us. I am looking forward to this year being a better one for us as 2023 was rather difficult. And I intend to make it a better one.

I titled this article Goals for the New Year since I have never been a big fan of making New Year’s resolutions. I always looked at it as a poor excuse not to set goals during the rest of the year. I would make New Year’s resolutions like, “Eat more chocolate”, as my form of protest. I know, what a rebel I am. I have set three goals that I plan to work on this year. We’ll see how far I get. Something is better than nothing, right?

Goal #1 “Daily writing/journaling for a calendar year perspective.”

The photo above is the inside cover page of my journal. The journal was a gift from my daughter last year and I can’t think of a better use for it. I have wanted to do some writing and following my life through a year seems appropriate with how tied to the weather our lives are here. What we do each day is very weather dependent. At this time of year, we hike. We check the weather forecast to see when the warmest temperature occurs during the day. We also check the predicted precipitation times. The goal is to stay warm and dry. During the warmer months, this flips, and we look for the cooler hours. The elements also play a part in our choice of trails for the day. Will this affect how muddy the trails are? Does the weather increase the chance for flies? How does this impact which shoes I wear? There is a bit of science to it. It’s not a good idea to just put on sneakers and run out the door.

The weather affects our daily decisions and when we do what during gardening season too. I suppose we make our daily plans somewhat like farmers do. Infact, maybe we are a sort of farmer, except for our own enjoyment and not for profit. When it’s hot, we work outside in the mornings as much as possible. I try to limit afternoon chores outdoors as I am a baby when it comes to enduring heat. Sometimes it is necessary. Certain tasks can’t wait. If it’s been rainy, you mow when it’s dry, even if it’s 90 degrees.

Not all of my writing will be about these physical things. I also like to ponder thoughts and emotions, and pretty much anything. Like, why do I sometimes dream that the university is coming to take my college degree back? I once had someone else tell me that they’ve had this dream too. So far, I have missed one day of journaling. Not a biggie. Onward!

Journal illustration
Journal illustration

Goal #2 “Meditate each morning on: being kind AND, how can I spread joy today?”.

This has been going pretty well. During the brief meditation (I am starting with just two or three minutes), I focus my thoughts on drawing in peace to be stable enough myself, to be able to project positivity to others. Followed by several thoughts of a “Be Kind” mantra. Then I thought about something I might be able to do to spread kindness as I am going about my day. I plan to extend the length of this meditation as the year progresses.

If I have trouble falling asleep at night, I have begun thinking the mantra of “Be Kind” then too. If I am awake anyway, I may as well put my time to good use. I don’t know if this goal is having any impact on my life or those around me yet. I find it hard to believe that there won’t be at least a few positive experiences from it. I believe kindness makes the world a better place. And we definitely need our world to be a better place right now.

Goal #3 “Get another one of our dogs certified as a therapy dog.”

This goal is totally different from the other two, but I still deem it a very worthy one. Shelby is still certified with Therapy Dogs International and works occasionally. I don’t work her very often because she will be 14 years old next month. She is still very happy to be working with mom when I do take her on a visit. I used to have hopes that Zekie would be my next therapy dog, but his anxiety never receded to a level where I can trust him to be reliable to my commands. He is very obedient, and I believe he could probably pass the test tomorrow. That still does not mean he would be a good therapy dog. He is obedient to my commands, but I must give him commands all the time. If I did not anticipate an inappropriate action, it could be a problem.

I think the next dog I will try to train to pass the test is Claire. She will not be an easy dog to train for the required exercises, but I think we can do it. She is slow to respond to training. She is not stupid, she just doesn’t seem to understand what she is told. Either that or she just doesn’t want to do it. We will get there. One of my biggest qualms about using her for therapy work, or anything else, is the fact that she gets car sick if we drive more than about six miles. That’s why I don’t take her to my brother’s or my daughter’s homes. She would be well behaved once there but would get sick along the way. Claire also has a penchant for waiting until we are pulling into the driveway of our destination and get sick as I put the car in park. Other than hiking the only place Claire gets to go is grandma’s because it’s not very far.

We have a storm heading our way and I see giant snowflakes out my window. The winds are starting to kick up and I’ve received an email from the electric company on how prepare for possible power outages. I should see about making dinner now. Just in case.

Happy belated New Year to you all. May your resolutions, if you make them, be going well!

Therapy dog
Shelby spreading joy at an elementary school while we read to the kids.

Tips for Handling Stress, From the Dog

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, , , , ,
greyhound on the patio
Cassius enjoying a beautiful day.

From my perspective, the world is suffering with lots of unhappiness, discontent, and hypersensitivity. This could be taken on a worldwide level, but I also see it in individuals that I encounter as I go about my life. People are quick to take offense. More people are on antidepressants than ever before. The National Institute of Health says that in 2020 use of antidepressants was 20% higher than the previous five years. This is mostly attributed to the Covid epidemic.

In my view, I think we are still suffering the fallout from the Covid epidemic. I anticipate that it will have long term effects. Children have had the formative years of their lives affected. Adults have had the behavior of years of their lives affected. And anything that lasts for years has permanent effects. The ripples caused, have far reaching effects.

The above being said, this is not intended to be a post about negativity, but a post about hope and the difference we can make as individuals, for ourselves and others. Take some ideas from dogs everywhere.

  1. Enjoy the day! Every day has something beautiful to offer. Relish the sunshine and fresh air. Take in the beauty around you. Enjoy nature: the flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds, the scent of flowers. All free to experience. If you don’t have these things at home, head out to a local park.
  2. Being in nature is one of the best ways to ground yourself. There is a new name given to an experience as old as mankind-forest bathing. It’s harder to focus on yourself when you are in nature. You see that you are one piece of an entire world. It gives you a chance to clear your mind which lets you take in new information and form new thoughts and ideas.
  3. Our dogs love hiking as do we. Not only are you immersed in nature (see above!), moving your body releases tension and improves your life overall. You become physically and mentally healthier.
  4. Go out in public and visit with people. This can improve mental health and help you to see yourself as part of the larger community.

Cassius loves visiting people. He gets depressed if he doesn’t get to go somewhere from time to time. A few weeks ago, he went to a local farmer’s market and was petted and oohed over by dozens of people. It made his day and theirs’ too. On Saturday, we took him, and Claire the sheltie, to Art in the Park in Kent. They visited with at least a hundred people, I’m sure. This was Claire’s first time a at such an event. She did great! At first, she didn’t know what to make of it. I could see her processing in her mind what all those people were doing there. She wasn’t afraid, and she let everyone who approached pet her. About halfway through, I saw a change in her. She decided that this was fun and started smiling when people approached and enjoyed that attention they gave her. This is the power of interactions.

Shetland Sheepdog
Claire

I was also happy that Claire took to the crowds and interactions so well, because I have been thinking that the time has come to get her certified as my next therapy dog. Shelby still does visits with me and enjoys the work for a time. At 13 1/2 years old, she tires more quickly than she used to. She is still happy to go anywhere with mom though!

So, get busy enjoying your day, and your week, and your life! If you are happier, those around you will be happier. Joy breeds more joy. So, don’t you owe it to yourself to be happier and make the world a happier place?

The Famine of Togetherness

Thoughts On Life, , ,
One of my nieces getting her groove on!

The Covid pandemic has changed me in ways I never thought possible. So far, I have remained healthy and disease-free. I have gone to great lengths to make sure this is the case. I am vaccinated, boosted, and hubby and I have spent a lot of time in isolation.

One of the biggest blessings of 2020 was being able to spend time with family again after the vaccines became available. I will never look at spending time with family in the same way. I always enjoyed it and looked forward to those times. Now, these gatherings bring me great joy. It is like a miracle every time one of my nieces’ crawls into my lap or we run around the house doing goofy activities. Hugging brothers, daughters, and other extended family is a treat. I feel like I am the survivor of a Great Depression. It was the Great Depression of solitude.

I know I am not the only person to feel this way. We watched a newsclip this morning showing people reuniting after being separated from loved ones for months and others for more than a year. The ones that reunited where one party was surprised are priceless. Watching so much joy literally brought goosebumps up on my arms.

Silly times with my other niece.

Early 2020 was the famine of togetherness, the drought of connectedness, the desert of social gatherings, but also taught us the importance of camaraderie and community.

Let us not soon forget this lesson. Time together is what makes our lives whole. Relationships with others help to fulfill us. Even encounters with strangers can be a precious thing. It is our chance to make a difference for someone else. Make it a good one. So, as we get back to a new normal, remember the great gift that the people in our lives are.

If we become annoyed or impatient with that person in front of us in the check-out line don’t take that for granted. We are in a store, in a check-out line, not reduced to using curbside pickup to avoid contact with others. (Although what a blessing curbside pickup was when we needed it. Thank you, workers!)

And we are all adjusting to a new normal. So, remember to be kind. Always.

Remember to Enjoy the Sparkle in Your Life!

Thoughts On Life, , ,
Hanging out with Claire on the patio

You may remember that during the heart of the pandemic, I started keeping a little notebook that I titled Things to Do Post Quarantine. Every time I had an idea of something I wanted to do but couldn’t, I recorded it in the notebook. This way I wouldn’t be missing out, just postponing the experiences. The idea being that once Covid was under control, it would be safe to go out into the world and do them. The link from that post follows. Ways To Deal With a Pandemic

The Covid pandemic is not over, and things are not back to normal. However, we have learned ways to deal with going out in public and have adapted ways to make things safer. I don’t yet go about my business like normal. What is normal anyway? I do go to places that I avoided during the worst of the pandemic and before vaccines were available. I do have a bit of a life again.

This made me wonder. How am I doing at enjoying the activities that I recorded in that little notebook? Am I doing some of the things and catching up with what I put off for another day? I got the notebook out and here is what I found.

I have done some of the things but not others yet. One of the most important to me was to be able to spend time with my nieces again. I have done this. In fact, the very first thing my husband and I did after getting our vaccines was to attend my youngest niece’s fourth birthday party along with her grandparents. We were all vaccinated, but had been under pandemic lockdown for so long that it took a little while for us to remove our masks. The masks disappeared when the food came out and did not go back on that afternoon. When it was time for us to go home, we all hugged each other. All six adults and two children. It was the first time in over a year. It was such a big deal that we were all taking about it. How we had avoided this and it was the first hugs for all of us outside our immediate household in so long. We were all in shock that we had been so brave to hug each other. I wasn’t concerned about getting sick because we all had our shots, but I had trained myself for so long to avoid physical contact that it was a big deal. But it was glorious! That day was the turning point for me in feeling like a normal human being again.

I have been able to see my nieces several times a month since then. I have done babysitting, gone on walks and to playgrounds with them, and spent a couple holidays together. It never gets old. I think I will have great appreciation of spending time with them until the day I die. We did come out the other side of the pandemic, but it has changed me forever.

Another item that I have done from the notebook, is invited a friend over for lunch on the patio. Granted, I have not done enough of this. This is due to the weather rather than any fear of being around people. It has been so rainy the past few weeks that fungus has become a real problem for our plants. This also makes it hard to plan more than a day ahead of time as far as inviting anyone over to hang out on the patio goes. Even the day my friend came over, we had to dry off the patio furniture. But still, the visit was an enjoyable time. To share the company of someone outside the family by choice is now a rare and wonderful thing.

An other item that I checked off my list is spending time at the library! This is something I am back to doing regularly, but that first time after being away for so long was food for the soul. To peruse the books, touch them, read the summaries inside the front flap, choose the ones I want and put them into my bag, was close to a religious experience! The library holds a special place in my heart. It is a place of knowledge, sometimes magic and adventure. It can take you to new lands as well as improve you and the place where you are. My daughter and I share a love of the library. One of our favorite activities has always been a long trip to the library, followed by a stop for ice cream at Katie’s Korner.

The last item in my notebook that I have completed so far is to hug the neighbor kids! We have two really great neighbor kids that live across the street. (Their parents are pretty great too!) We kept our distance as best we could during the pandemic. We met in yards and talked from a distance just to keep in touch, figuratively speaking. Of course, it wasn’t the same. And all the while I was thinking about when it would be safe to hug them again. They are really good huggers! Well, it was finally safe. They probably didn’t think I was ever going to let them go. We even had an opportunity to go watch the oldest play in her softball tournament recently and to have them come over and swim.

There are quite a few things in my notebook still to be done. The important thing is that I have begun. The Covid pandemic was and is a terrible thing. But as with many bad things in life, some good did come out of it for me. I no longer take so many things for granted. I realize that time spent with family and friends is a precious gift. To be fair, it always was. I appreciate it so much more now. I must take steps not to become complacent and return to my old ways. I need to enjoy each encounter for the treasure that it is.

Remember to enjoy the sparkle in your life and appreciate it!

Brighter Days

Dogs & Other Animals, ,
Shetland Sheepdog

Claire this evening.

Claire is the only dog who’s still awake at our house this evening. This is typical of most evenings. Our other dogs are passed out in various places around the house.

Claire is our youngest dog, but still, she’s six years old. She is not a young dog. We wonder if she spent a lot of time in her crate in her previous life. Everything seems new and exciting to her. She acts like she’s afraid she will miss something if she falls asleep.

When bedtime comes, she is eager to go in her crate. This is partially due to the fact that she receives a treat before bed. Once she finishes the treat, she quickly lays down and curls up in a ball with her tail over her nose. That is the last we hear out of her until morning light. We are thankful for this because in general, the girl likes to bark.

Sheltie

Claire’s happy face.

This is Claire’s typical look throughout the day. The first photo is her slowed down evening face. She still spends time jumping on and off the couches and chewing bones.

She is so full of life. She brightens our days and makes us smile frequently.

A Plethora of Birds

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

We have seen a plethora of birds around our house lately. Varied species.

We have a little family in this birdhouse in our red maple. The birdhouse was built by my husband and has seen one or two broods of young fledged every year. Usually it is sparrows. This year I think it is house finches.

We ran out of seed for our bird feeder two or three weeks ago. I usually stop feeding in the spring. I figure the birds can easily find their own food by then. This year I was going to continue feeding since we are staying at home isolating, and enjoy watching the birds. But my mail order sources have been out of seed. Everyone else must be thinking the same.

Even so, we are graced with many beautiful birds. The woodpeckers of course. I feel like they are special friends since they are here with us year round.

And we have been seeing the eastern bluebirds many times each day. We see them all over our property. We’re not sure if we have several pairs of bluebirds or one pair that is very active.

There are numerous goldfinches. They often flit by as I look out the kitchen window. I have seen them sitting on the lawn munching on dandelion blooms.

We have a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks that we see once or twice each day. This is the first year I have ever noticed them here.

And today, for the first time, we saw an oriole. I have seen pictures, but they do not do the bird justice. The orange is so brilliant that it is striking.

We see these birds in various areas of our yard, but they especially like to sit on our power line and jump from branch to branch in our trumpet vine. We hear the sounds of chainsaws, and trees being felled in the small valley down the hill from us, and hope that we are not seeing this increase in birds because they are being displaced.

We hope the birds are increasing in number and that the trend will continue. They are jewels of nature and we take joy in their presence.

Fun With Pups

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Our pups have such fun playing. It makes us happy just to watch them. This is from an afternoon a few days ago when it was nice out. May they give you as much joy as they did me.

Sharing Joy

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

I took dogs to visit at the nursing home this evening. Can you tell Baxter had a good time?

I usually take Cassius as my tall dog that folks in wheelchairs can reach, but he is incapacitated right now. He was being a wild child playing in the pasture and tore a nail off. I didn’t want to take him with an open wound because of the chance of infection. A few people asked where the big dog who was stripped like a tiger was. He will return when he is healed up. For now he needs to take it easy.

Baxter did his “brother” proud. He did such a good job visiting with all the people. He was well behaved, courteous, and friendly. Baxter has always been a joy. It was wonderful to share the joy with others.

Such Days As These

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life,

Many of our best days are spent here at home, but not all of them. Today, hubby and I went to the zoo with our dear sister in law and two nieces. It was a stellar day!

The chance to hang out and bond with Niece 1 (The Child of Questions And Amazement) and share the experiences of seeing all the animals was priceless. And Uncle (aka hubby) and Niece 1 even got to ride a camel together!

And what a blessing to share a zoo day with Niece 2 (The Child of Boundless Joy). She is happy to share everything we see and do together. Every new encounter was met with a smile. (She, would refer to herself as Miss I Talk a Lot). That was her catch phrase for the day.

After a hot and satisfying day, we partook of our zoo tradition. We all had ice cream together to cool off and round out the adventure.

Such days as these help to make our lives complete

Bring Joy!

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Photos with residents are cropped to protect their privacy.

Oh, to be able to bring this much joy into someone’s life. Apparently dogs are more powerful than I am. No one smiles like this when I walk in by myself. But that’s ok, I get it. Dogs are all accepting and instantly make nearly everyone feel better.

I take Shelby and Nikki to visit at a nursing home twice a month and they are always a hit. Many residents want to visit with them. And any passing workers stop for a few pats, from aides to nurses to dining room employees. Family and friends who come to visit their loved ones like to stop and visit with the pups as well.

Everyone enquirers about Shelby and Nikki. How old are they? (9 and 12 1/2) What breed? (Shetland Sheepdogs) Do they live in the house? (Of course) You must brush them a lot? (Yes, my hobby while I watch tv) And many other questions.

I’ve been visiting nursing and residential facilities with dogs since 2000. Of course not with the same dogs. I am on my third generation of therapy dogs. On every visit I’m repeatedly asked the dogs’ names amongst other information about them. How often have I been asked my name? Once.

Does it bother me? Not one bit! Why would I have kept it up for the past 19 years if it did? (Wow, that’s a long time!) It is a great testament to how much people need dogs. People do talk to me and are glad to see me. They tell me about the dogs they had as kids and when they were adults.

Dogs give acceptance to people, whatever state they are in. They are a connector between people and a bridge to memories and conversation. They facilitate miracles. One of my life goals is to be able to bring as much joy as my dogs!