Time to catch up
The last couple of weeks have been long and draining. My mind and heart have been all over the place as of late. Times of major lulls and downtime have quickly turned to emotionally charged moments. But, it’s all a part of riding the currents of life.
Some days, there is an underlying intensity that brews into turbulent winds that scream and whirl around you leaving you lost and in search of the right direction. Those days intertwine with the ones that lift you up and carry you calmly, dancing you smoothly through the day. 
I’ve been overwhelmed by internal battles that keep ripping me away from floating on the tender breezes only to crash me into the stormy reality that something is off kilter. As the holidays (ie: a very emotional time for me) approach, I know I need to regain my balance, to keep from fluttering right off the edge…
My way of tipping the scales back into my favor is to keep as busy as possible.
“Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint you can on it.” – Danny Kaye
I plan to gather as many brushes as I can physically hold and dip them in every color I see… I want to splash carelessly and make deeply intentional strokes until my canvas is covered a million times over.
Ive spent my life thinking that things need to be erased and began again when they turn out poorly. Perhaps, instead of starting over, this is a time that I need to just add on to the foundation that I have started. The canvas that I have been painting for the last 26 years may just need a fresh coat in order to truly relish the magnitude of the colors of life.
One thing that I have been looking forward to doing is spending more of my time helping others. We began our volunteer work for the PSPCA. The experience was very eye-opening for me. I had never seen an emaciated dog with my own eyes, and I felt a sickening amount of desperation grabbing me from this dogs soulful eyes. Just taking a tour of the two shelters we will be working in deepened the ideals that have been gradually making their way out of me for years. I have always wanted to make it my mission to help abandoned and abused animals and I certainly jumped in head first here.
On top of feeling extremely motivated to donate my time to these places, spending the morning learning about the needy animals made me much more appreciative of the wonderful dogs I share my home with. After returning home, I wanted nothing more than to thank them for being so understanding of the human race. People, in general, bring home many of the stresses and unrelated emotional turmoil that is experienced through out the day. It is easy to forget that these faithful animals live only through what we show them. A bad day can completely turn around for me when I am able to snuggle up to one of our dogs. I wish more animals had a chance to change the lives of people.
Step one of this journey? Remembering how much I love the bond I have with my dogs, even when they drive me crazy (especially after a long day)!!
We’ve gotten into a wonderful weekend habit of taking Meika and Early to different state parks to go hiking. We are blessed with a plethora of trails to choose from right around the corner from our home.
We went to French Creek and fell in love. Despite it being a stunning day, somehow the trails were saved just for us.
I watched our dogs run in unison and play like puppies. 
I lingered on shadows through the trees that danced on moss covered rocks. I stayed back and sat on the cool leaf covered earth and took photos of everything I saw.
The next weekend we tried out Hibernia Park. This was far less impressive to us. It was crowded, and it seemed as though the trails were traded for man made vehicle paths. Maybe we didn’t explore enough?
This weekend is scheduled to the max and full of fun events; Spending plenty of much needed time with my girlfriends, celebrating birthdays and lots of doggie time. And next week? Enjoying the warmth of my parents’ house for a delightful Thanksgiving Day. 
Let the craziness of the holiday season begin!
