The gray days of December

I don't know about you, but it is so hard for me to believe that we welcomed the month of December earlier this week.  This week was a long one, It was tough going back to work after being off last week, the weather gave us lots of gray cloudy days, the daylight hours are short, the nights are long and dark, and I was feeling very unmotivated.  Couple that with the fact that from September 28 through December 4th I deal with the anniversaries of so many losses and that it's only been two months since we lost Maddie, and it just all seemed to bring me down.  But no matter how much I may not want to do things or how little motivation I have, I still have two girls who need me to be there and ensure their needs are met every day.  So when I really just wanted to stay home in my pajamas and watch T.V. all day, they got me outside and kept me moving.  For that I am grateful.

While I was working, the girls spent most of the mornings napping.  They seem very content most of the day, although when I start moving around, Ruby is convinced that something fun may be happening soon.  Sometimes she is right, others she is not. This week the girls started a new trend, spending much of the late afternoon looking out the front windows waiting for interesting things to happen.  These interesting things range from squirrels or cats that wander our neighborhood to the dogs that walk or run by every day.  It happens like clock work at just about 3:30pm and ends by 4:15pm when they then realize that it is almost time for my workday to end and we are nearing dinner time.  Both of them really love dinner time!

Because it is dark so early, several days during the week I got out with them for a walk or a drive over my lunch.  Ruby loves to take rides in the car so we've been taking some short drives to different local trails nearby to find our daily geocache and sometimes we'll get in a walk too so that we don't have to try to do that after dark.  

While we did have some sunny mornings this week, most of our days were gray and dismal.  It is the time of year that every thing in nature is monotone, the skies are gray, the trees are bare, and we go between snow and wet leaves on the ground.  Thankfully the temperatures weren't too cold, so our walks were enjoyable and the paths were clear.  I know very soon we'll be battling snowy and icy trails, so for now I'll appreciate the grayness of everything.

On the days we didn't get out for a walk over lunch, we enjoyed some nice walks around the neighborhood.  On those days were were able to enjoy some of the Christmas light displays, including the big heart at the church down the street.  I've noticed a marked improvement in Ruby's walking on a leash over the last week which has made our walks a lot more enjoyable too.  

In addition to our walks, every day I've been trying to make their dinner time more fun by using the snuffle mats or other treat dispensing toys for them to eat.  We've also spent some time working on training.  It's been helpful to keep their minds active when they can't spend as much time outside and I know they really enjoy the challenges.  

I was happy when Friday arrived and had plans for a productive, but quiet, weekend.  After a quiet Friday night at home, we enjoyed a short visit from our friend Bonnie and her new dog Duke.  Duke is about a year old and he was adopted from our local shelter.  He is a sweet boy and the girls enjoyed a little romp around the backyard with him.  Somehow I got no pictures of the fun, but it was a good way to start the morning.

After Bonnie and Duke left, we headed out to run several errands.  It was a beautiful sunny day, so I made a point to get out to enjoy a nice walk at the Baker Woodlot with the girls and pick up our daily geocache.  It was day number 365 of our geocaching streak and I was pretty excited to be able to reach one full year of geocaching every day.  

The girls thoroughly enjoyed our time in the woods and so did I.  It was such a gorgeous day in the woods and something I really needed.  

We ran around all the rest of the afternoon, picking up a couple of items from the mall, doing some grocery shopping, and checking several to-dos off my list.  We ended the afternoon with a stop for a hot chocolate and a couple of pup cups from Starbucks.  It had been a very productive day!

We headed home from running errands with only a short time to put away groceries and do a couple of other things around the house before heading back out to the Wonderland of Lights Toys for Tots night at the Zoo.  I love this event every year because I love donating a toy and I enjoy the visit to the Zoo.  

I got to the Zoo early in the evening so that it wasn't very crowded which allowed me a little more time to enjoy the big cats.  They are my favorite part of any visit to the Zoo.

After a quick walk through the Zoo to enjoy the lights, I got back in the car, ordered some take-out, and headed home for dinner and to watch the Big 10 Championship game.  Although we had been busy all day, it had been a pretty good day.

The weather forecast today called for a wintry mix starting in the early afternoon and I was looking forward to ending our week with a quiet Sunday at home.  I had a couple of quick stops to make this morning and, of course, we took a drive to pick up a geocache, but then we headed home for a nice walk around the neighborhood before  the wet weather began.  The girls enjoyed a peanut butter Kong while I had a crazy mix of leftovers for lunch and then settled in for a day of finishing up my holiday decorating and enjoying some Hallmark Christmas movies.

It was the perfect way to spend the day and a very much needed relaxing day at home.