Over twelve years ago, a dog's whimper changed our lives. Visiting our local Humane Society to check out a two-year old Corgi mix, we petted her through the kennel's chain-link fence, talked to her a bit, and walked away to find someone to let her out to have a meet-and-greet. Once out of her eyesight, she let out a sad little cry as if to say "come back!" Game over, that was it. She was mine, she was ours, I wasn't going to spend another minute without her.
I have held in my heart the knowledge that a dog's life is too short. Heck, even our lives are too short. I knew we'd have maybe 14 years with her if we were very lucky; more than that would be extraordinary. Every single day since Carly has come into our lives, I give a grateful, silent "thank you" to the fates that put us together.
Yesterday, we decided to take a drive into our forest to get a dose of nature: lush meadows loaded with wildflowers, running creeks, and happy trees, the result of an unusual amount of rainfall we've received this summer monsoon season. Keeping a day in the woods as simple as possible, we packed up Carly, some sandwiches and water, binoculars, and camera (oh, and a knitting project) and headed out.
It was a visual feast for the eyes. Everywhere we looked we saw flowers in brilliant colors dappling the meadows, forest, and roadsides. Creeks were full. Light clouds changed the sun's reflection on the landscape every other minute.
We had gone out in the forest to see the sights, but what really happened is that we saw the sights through Carly's eyes. In the car, she'd poke her nose out the window, eagerly breathing in the fresh air. Prancing down trails, she'd sniff flowers and paw at whatever may be under logs. She'd trot into shallow streams, plop down on her belly to cool off, and look at us with an expression of "what?"
It was a day I'll remember. How lucky are we to live in such a beautiful world! On top of that, Carly's joyful spirit made this day extra precious. I know that will keep me smiling when the time comes that we'll head out into the forest someday, just Bruce and I.
