a youthful old friend. her new puppy-almost-adult. my energized
vigor from reconnections of all sorts and the morning’s ideas for new ventures.
my faithful enthusiastic old dog.
we four roamed some woods nearby. a place i had never been but
which felt as familiar and cozy and comfortable as all my former hiking spots: each
sword fern, salal bush, sodden stump an old companion too.
the afternoon waned and the wet darkness threatened to set in,
to envelop us.
for good.
i joked that we’d forgotten our ten essentials but that my tiny
keychain light, rain jacket, and insulated boots would keep us well through the long
night. humor would be our food, woven stories our warm blanket as we lost our
way again and again, deeper into conversations we had waited three and a half
years to continue.
it did not matter that we re-trod the same path a few times. or
that we had to run to make it down the muddy slope in the last bare stitch of light. or that our dinners were delayed because we played too long in friendship. or that her dog left with a scraped nose and mine with sore legs. or that the pine needles and mud from shoes and paws littered our living room floors. or that i still had a couple of hours of work to complete upon return.
the delight of the natural connection, two dogs who began as
strangers and ended as playmates, the depth of companionship-continued with
human - and nonhuman - living beings. the beauty of not caring too much for the "wrong" things and caring fervently too much for all the "right" things. ease. peace. joy. laughter.
happy dogs, happy women.
All blog images created & photographed by Jennifer J. Wilhoit unless otherwise noted. Please circulate images with photo credit: "©2016 JenniferJWilhoit/TEALarbor stories. AllRightsReserved."
