Late in December 2023, I made a list. It was a New Year's Resolution/Year-Long To Do List. I celebrated my forty-ninth birthday earlier in the month, and with the new year approaching, I felt I better get busy on the bucket list. Fifty is a kind of halfway marker for me since I hope to surpass one hundred birthdays.
I rather spontaneously went to my yoga room (yes, I have a yoga room), and on a big (really big) post-it note, I brainstormed things I wanted to do in the next year. I won't give you the complete list because it would be boring and overwhelming.
The first thing I wrote on my list was "Camp with Gracie."
We bought Gracie, our mini Australian Shepherd in July of 2023. I had wanted a dog forever and I finally convinced (threatened) my husband that we needed one. We haven't regretted it for a moment. I mean look at her!
I love hiking and being in nature, so I wanted a dog to take with me. She has not disappointed me! Gracie is the perfect dog to take anywhere. She will calmly sleep for however long she is in the car, tolerate long elevator rides to get outside when staying in hotels, snuggle up in a tent no matter how windy or wild the nature is, and sit serenely on a paddleboard.
Taking Gracie with me to camp was no problem at all. She tented with me in our backyard ,the Cariboo, the Pacific Northwest, an the Shuswap. Ticking off that first 50 for 50 was a cinch!
I need a lot of alone time. It's nothing personal against my friends or family; it's just how I function. Having Gracie is a gift. I can be away from people but still receive unconditional love. If I want to talk, she listens, and if I don't, she is OK with that, too.
My first 50 for 50 brought me a lot of joy. It's something that will remain on my To-Do list for this year, too!
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