Slowing down to savor the Summer

It's been a pretty quiet week around here this week

Things seem to be slowing down a bit and we're finding time to relax.  It is a nice change of pace from what life has been for the past several months.

With Bumble leaving us last weekend, the house has seemed much quieter, not because he made a lot of noise, but because he and Mina were always having fun together.  I can't believe it, but I think I actually miss their wrestling matches.

Without him here to play with her, Mina was a little lost for a few days.  She tried valiantly to get Peaches to play with her, and when that didn't work out, she spent a lot of time yelling at me in her high-pitched bark.  But eventually as the week went on, she settled back into her pre-Bumble daily work from home routine.

To keep all of us happy this week, we made sure to get out for our regular walks.  These are just some of the summer wildflowers we saw along the way.

Without Bumble here, I've also been able to focus more of my attention on Peaches.  I feel bad for her some days because her hearing and eyesight continue to deteriorate, and I honestly believe that is what is causing her anxiety issues.

She is also dealing with other old lady issues, but she still loves her daily walks and really is happiest when she's out on a walk with me.  I've also found that the more we move, the less she has issues with her hips.  So we're going to keep moving as often as we can.

In addition to our standard walks around our neighborhood, we've continued to do some walks around random neighborhoods that we happen to be driving by, as well as some fun visits to other destinations like parks and natural areas. 

Most of our walks this week have been in the evenings after work and dinner, so we've stayed closer to home.  I had the added bonus of working the election this week which included Monday evening set-up and the Tuesday afternoon shift.  Working the election limited our ability to get in much of a walk that day, but I made sure to take the girls out for a short walk before I left and after I got home. 

When Wednesday arrived, we were all ready to stretch our legs, and I was excited to visit Frances Park that evening where the Lansing Symphony Orchestra was preforming for free as part of the Concerts in the Park series.  Unfortunately, not quite 45 minutes into the concert, they had to stop due to a thunderstorm moving into the area.  At least we had a short walk and enjoyed some music before that happened. 

We made our normal visit to the South Lansing Farmer's Market on Thursday and made a loop around the neighborhood as well. And before we could leave, Peaches insisted on a walk around Feeder's Pet Store. 

We also enjoyed a nice walk around the Capitol grounds and downtown before heading home for the night. 

While work was still crazy this week, I can see things slowly getting easier.  I didn't have any late work nights just trying to keep up, and most days I was able to walk away from my laptop feeling good about what I had accomplished for that day.  I was happy to be able to leave the workday behind and enjoy my evenings with the girls.

On Friday, I decided we'd earned a little extra fun, so we headed to Harris Nature Center for our evening walk.  We don't visit there often, so the girls were extra excited to be out exploring.   It was hot and humid, so we kept our walk to just about a mile, and we all had a great time.

Then we stopped at Vanessa's to pick up some garden goodies she had for me and some meat she had for Peaches.  I love watching how excited Mina gets as we drive toward Vanessa's neighborhood and she realizes where we are going.  She gets so excited and it's really kind of adorable. 

Our stop led to a quick, fun little geocaching outing with Vanessa.  I was also able to get the girls out for another short walk in Vanessa's neighborhood before we headed home which got us our third walk of the day and just over 2 1/2 miles total.  That's pretty good for Peaches on an 85 degree day.

Before we headed home, Mina also got to meet Vanessa's adorable new kitten.  Both of them were very good girls and had a successful first meeting. I was very proud of my Mina.

I've also made time several nights this week to sit outside after sunset to listen to the Cicadas and other sounds of summer nights while watching the the lightning bugs and staring up at the stars.  We've officially passed the mid-point of Summer, and Fall will be here before we know it.  The lightning bug numbers are slowly decreasing every night and the darkness is setting in obviously earlier than it had been as we slowly head into mid-August.  It's a reminder of just how fleeting Summer is and how quickly life can pass us by.  

As I spend time outside enjoying the evenings with the girls, I'm also reminded that there is a good chance it is my final Summer with Peaches.  I guess I can't know that for certain, but I know all too well the sadness that Fall generally holds for me when we are in this season of life.  So I'm going to hold on to summer a little harder this year.

Tonight as I write, I'm lying in bed squished between the girls-one nearing the finish line of her marathon of life, the other just a short distance in to hers-and I'm filled with emotions.  I feel so blessed and thankful for them both and for the fact that I've gotten so much more time than I ever expected to have with Peaches.  I look forward to every day we have left, all the adventures we will take, and the memories we will make. 

Thank you for taking the journey with us.