Turns out that it just doesn’t take much to feel happy. At least not a whole lot to feel happy like my black Lab, “Reality”
“Reality” or “Re-Re” Kindler
who turns 9 this October. Reality has had a form of arthritis since she came to us as a pup but she insists on going for walks anyway. We just massage her really well and give her vitamins and pain pills to help. As she gets older, her walks get slower and slower but she really does love to go out if only for a little bit. She gets to walk off leash because she is a good girl and stays close by except for those times when she forgets the body that she is in when she spies a rabbit, squirrel or deer and bunches up all her feet to run pel mel after them into the woods. I know inside her head it is worth the aches she will feel later to feel the wind in her ears now!

Today I thought I was going to get away with just taking the Paul-dog to walk to the mechanic to retrieve my car. I’d had a “talk” with Reality to let her know that I loved her but that I needed to get up there quicker than she could walk. She gave me one very tender kiss in reply and by the time I go through putting on my shoes and pulling my hair back into a pony tail I decided that I could take as long as I needed to and Reality could go for us (I suspected that she was putting those thoughts in my head because at about the same time that I had decided she could go, she popped up from the study where she had been laying and started getting all excited to go).

So we took our walk down the green-green streets of south Austin. Both dogs were so happy to be out and sniffing and finding out what was going on in their “hood”. It’s just so easy to forget that kind of happiness. Don’t you remember having “special” happy times when you were a kid? Like the littlest thing would make me happy such as when we would drive down this one highway in San Antonio and pass my favorite billboard that had Wonder Bread slices continuously falling from the bag onto a plate (course, don’t you know it would have been food that got my attention!). That’s the kind of happy I suspect my dogs feel. To top it off, by the time we’d walked the mile and a half up the street and were about to turn the corner, Reality all of a sudden perked up and got excited because she’d been to the mechanics before. You would have thought we were going to visit Santa himself. Both dogs scampered into the little waiting area with me. Then we all piled into the car and went on a short trip to my favorite coffee shop. My windows are covered with the evidence of my companions this morning. Definitely need to go to the car wash tomorrow. Such simple happiness.

The happiness of our morning excursion stayed with me all day. Had a wonderful interview with Career Intuitive Sue Frederick (www.blogtalkradio.com/Hope42day) and guests, Katherine Shelly and Terri. What fun!?

I’m glad to be reminded about the simple things that can make us happy. And I’m especially grateful for happy black dogs….