Since we returned from vacation three weeks ago, life has been consumed by car repairs and vet visits, a new foster dog, family and work commitments. In general life has gotten in the way of doing all of the things I love to do. But tonight, I decided it was time to sit down and write. I've had some musings over the last week that I thought I would share. But as I headed back to sit in bed and do a little writing, I was sidetracked with a new train of thought and a new plan for the evening.
Earlier this week I received my copy of Postcards from Forrest in the mail. Forrest was a German Shorthaired Pointer with Degenerative Myelopathy which caused him to lose the usage of his hind legs. His family was not ready to give up on him though and purchased wheels to help Forrest get around. I followed Forrest's story and that of his loving family-John and Teri- who volunteer for Shorthair rescue in California. Forrest ultimately lost his battle and left this world for a better place. And after he died, his parent wrote a book about his life as a way to give back. I was excited to get my copy and start reading it. Well, that little book inspired me to sit down and begin to work on a book of my own.
So tonight, I pulled out my tiny little hard drive full of all of the pictures from my adventures with Imke over the years, with a plan to start writing. And I did. I started writing and got a whole paragraph written and then I got distracted. I figured I may find additional inspiration from the pictures, so I began to peruse. And once I started looking through the pictures, all of our amazing memories of our times spent together came flooding back. And I gave up on continuing to write for the night and decided instead to enjoy the journey down memory lane.
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| Nelson |
Earlier this week I received my copy of Postcards from Forrest in the mail. Forrest was a German Shorthaired Pointer with Degenerative Myelopathy which caused him to lose the usage of his hind legs. His family was not ready to give up on him though and purchased wheels to help Forrest get around. I followed Forrest's story and that of his loving family-John and Teri- who volunteer for Shorthair rescue in California. Forrest ultimately lost his battle and left this world for a better place. And after he died, his parent wrote a book about his life as a way to give back. I was excited to get my copy and start reading it. Well, that little book inspired me to sit down and begin to work on a book of my own.
So tonight, I pulled out my tiny little hard drive full of all of the pictures from my adventures with Imke over the years, with a plan to start writing. And I did. I started writing and got a whole paragraph written and then I got distracted. I figured I may find additional inspiration from the pictures, so I began to peruse. And once I started looking through the pictures, all of our amazing memories of our times spent together came flooding back. And I gave up on continuing to write for the night and decided instead to enjoy the journey down memory lane.
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| Imke, North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh |
As you well know, most of my journeys don't contain memories of just Imke. They contain many memories of my time with both Imke and Maddie. But Maddie has never been very good at patiently sitting still while I take a picture. Especially in the beginning! So I have many pictures with Imke alone in front of a building while Maddie is behind the scenes trying to pull me the other way.
On this gray, cloudy, rainy day when we were driving through North Carolina, we had an especially memorable day. It was the first time that Maddie stepped on a completely full 32 ounce Styrofoam cup of Mt. Dew...because she was so excited to be in the car and saw a squirrel...causing the side of the cup to crack and sending the top flying off. Sticky, wet Mt. Dew went splashing across my car, filling the cup holders and covering both me and both of the front seats of the car. As you can imagine, it was a real mess. To make things even better, I only had two little napkins in the glove box and nothing else to help clean up the mess. It was one of those challenging days with Maddie in the car that made me pause and wonder why I had decided to bring her along. And then, after a few stops and a few adventures along the way, this happened. She really knows how to melt my heart!
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| Maddie knows how to make herself comfy |
Day two of this trip was another crazy day of the pacing, whining, and ever anxious Maddie. But we had plans to get out into the woods for a hike. We hiked the Andrew Jackson State Park and saw several other sites on our way to our next Capitol stop. After a day of traveling and sight-seeing, we finally made it to the Capitol Building in Charleston, SC. As is normal for Maddie, she was a ball of energy when we got out of the car and made our way toward the Capitol grounds. She knows all too well that college campuses and Capitol grounds mean squirrels, and she generally cannot control her excitement. Despite the pouring rain and the fact that I was exhausted after a long day of travel, Maddie was ready to see the world. So off we went with me being dragged along behind as she gleefully weaved back and forth, barking into the wind to announce her presence to the world.
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| S Carolina State Capitol Building, Charleston |
What I discovered is that South Carolina has one of the most beautiful State Capitol Buildings and grounds that I have seen. It was beautiful. It is also a very historic area and I always enjoy the story that each city has to tell. Especially if it has American Revolution or Civil War ties.
So for the next 45 minutes we walked around this beautiful grounds in the rain, enjoying our little history lesson and the beauty around us. After a good walk, it was time to make an effort at getting a picture of the girls together at this Capitol Building. So as the rain began to fall even harder, I crossed my fingers and hoped that by some miracle, maybe Maddie would stand long enough to be in the picture with Imke. And that is when I captured these.
This may be my favorite of all of the pictures I've taken with Maddie in front a Capitol Building. Maddie standing so nicely, looking off into the distance and Imke in her typical profile pose...such pretty girls. Who would ever think that Maddie was ever crazy after seeing these!?!?
This trip we missed out on seeing Fort Sumter due to the heavy rains which caused flooding in the downtown Charleston streets, but that's okay. We still made the most of our trip and we have some really great memories together. Things that were a challenge at the time now make me think back and laugh and appreciate all of the crazy, goofy, silliness these two have added to my life over the years.
Now I can't wait to continue to look through these old pictures and reflect on more of our times together as I begin to concentrate more on writing this book. I have to decide which direction I want to take it...funny, educational, maybe a combination. Geared toward kids or toward adults, or maybe I could do both. I know it will be a long process and we still have some travels ahead of us before we can complete it. I think the next two years are going to be just as much of an adventure writing as the last several have been as we traveled. But I can at least say I've started... 11/11/2017.
Hopefully you'll stick with us as I share more bits and pieces from our journeys together.
