Just finished walking Obi at Heritage Trail and on my way to grab thong flip-flops for Louis at Target.
I have a cramp in my ass. Literally.
I pulled something doing laundry earlier. Soon after, I was limping from our bedroom just after Louis hopalonged from his office. We met each other’s eyes in the hallway and laughed at our crip sitch.
I’m on point with Obi until after Louis’s surgery (scheduled for next Thursday when I’ll be at FreedomFest in Vegas) and so despite the cramp, the show must go on.
I’d planned to cheat with a dog park visit this morning but it was Louis’s father, Chris Calitz’s funeral, which we were grateful technology allowed us to observe. Of course, it’s not the same as being there to celebrate and mourn a life, but I’m glad we got the chance to participate remotely. When the Psalm was sung in Afrikaans, Louis and I held hands and, with tears in our eyes, sang with gusto, something we have rarely done in our almost 30 years together.
Trying to power through the pain on my walk, I decided to focus on the natural beauty surrounding me. Types of birds: Cardinals, sparrows, a flock of geese bouncing in the river. Colors of butterflies: gold, orange, lilac, mauve, grey, black, brown, and yellow. It occurs to me, because Ma is an artist, I know colors like Louis knows the periodic table.
There is a moment on every walk with Obi when she just loses her shit for a moment from pure puppy joy. Euphoric. I call it “going dilly.” I can sense the moment it is going to happen because I feel it too. The sunlight just right on the wildflowers, the breeze rustling the leaves, the chirps and bird songs.
Embrace those moments, embrace the euphoria, love the world, and all who are in it. We only get one chance, and it passes fast, like that tangerine butterfly floating away on the wind.