A Week of a Puppy, a Cat, Birds, Gardening and Feeling Present

It's been a hectic week and each day I discovered more about myself with the help of a little puppy. Just like having an infant around, having a puppy changes your routine or makes you realize you lack a real routine.

I've had a problem with not feeling present and having this puppy who depends on me for walks and snuggles up to me with every waking moment, it's hard not to be present. This morning I listened to a mockingbird sharing its songs and sat on the ground with the smell of some early spring flowers.

I am on a great cross road, I have worked for the last 28 years with little interruption and now I am in between jobs or careers or just in between. My son who has been such a major center of all my activity is starting to find his own way.

I feel like I'm in a forest, waiting for light or a sign and the anxiety I feel is God's way of asking, do you trust me? This little dog comes to remind me that it's the little things that matter; a walk,  a bathroom break, the spectacle of a leaf on the lawn.

I've smelled beautiful fragrant flowers I might not have noticed, I've listened to birds and watched them hop around the lawn and I feel aware and alive. There are still goals to work through, still hills to climb but for the moment I am content watching this puppy explore his world.

The garden is growing in, last years' zinnias and assorted milkweed plants are crowding each other seeking dominance. I am the equalizer, I tame the weeds, thin out the herd and stake the vines and the lillis that are popping up everywhere.

This year is the first year I plan on keeping an ordered garden. I want people to see it and be impressed as much as the wildlife likes the chaos, people tend to see a forest.

In the midst of all of this in-between, I am find myself and starting to forge a routine I probably never had before. Tomorrow I plan on walking the puppy early in the morning and letting him use up all his stores of energy, still going to the gym, still keeping closer to God, so much to think of and it's  a lot easier if you are present.

God Works in Strange Ways: Feeling Absent? Get a Puppy

A year ago, I put my son's dog down after 16 years of unconditional love. He was a beautiful chocolate lab who has been missed dearly in the house but the idea of another dog screams more expenses, responsibilities and demands on time.

I am protecting myself from something, this is why I don't get involved at a church or go out with friends or invest in new ones. What am I saving my time for? I find myself wasting more time than I invest in anything.

After ten months of working a job that was quite time consuming, now I have time, lots of time. I am working freelance and there is constant ebb and flow.

Time slips so easily through my fingers, I find myself amazed to see the sun going down again or the weekend approaching. My paintings wait for me to get back to them, my garden grows and so does the expenses, all I am doing well right now is working out, photography and gardening.

What great idea do I have that overwhelms my every day but never quite comes to clarity? Enter my younger son, after a year of threatening to bring home a puppy, he brings home a beautiful puppy.

He says he realizes how the house has been missing something, the fact is we've all been missing something. Suddenly I have a mirror to my laziness and distraction. I suddenly am present in the moment with this little bundle of energy.

When did I get so distracted from moments. I take the puppy out every few hours and we both sit and listen to the birds and the cars. We both notice all the smells and colors and suddenly I'm present in the moment.

This little spectacle of energy, expenses and responsibilities is demanding my time and attention. He's teaching me to be here in the moment even while I'm wrestling with time, dragging myself around lazy, fighting to get back to whatever I need to get back to.

God teaches us in the most abstract ways.  I drag myself around following this little puppy and I realize I have avoided my life, I've been saving moments for the idea of something but never quite put my finger on what.

This little distraction has succeeded in making me present, I see myself as selfish of time, I'm a miser of this free time that mostly gets swept under the bed for another day. Sometime lessons come in the strangest places, thanks God, thanks to my son and this little puppy named Ranger.

Welcome to Trashr Inc. We Will be Hiring Soon!

Attention: All would be drones

Green Sky Plastics is finally hiring!!!

Putting trash in it’s place in a green way

The successful candidate will have a Bachelors of art, science, math, photography,   statistics A masters would be even better, perhaps a doctorate-we like higher learning!!!

Must have a green thumb-we have a corporate garden and that will be part of your daily tasks

Must have a high school education….unless you have a BA or BS than that supercedes the high school education

Must be able to speak spanish, not sure why but we just like multiple languages and besides we like to tell jokes in spanish. Also to be inclusive we have a weekly Mexican heritage lunch-we eat at a local Mexican establishment-Ok it’s taco bell but still….

Must be creative in solving problems but can follow specific directions so as not to be ridiculously creative-we have a brand by the way.

Must think outside the box-you won’t have an office-it’s all cubicles. We also like for all your belongings to be in a box but still be able to navigate outside of said box

We do not discriminate on sex or race but we encourage our employees to use black and Mexican vendors and if they are woman-that’s a plus, must honestly appear inclusive and nondiscriminatory-you will be tested on this one

Must love the color Green and use it in multiple sentences

Must be able to discard trash in a timely manor

Must be a self-starter-a firestarter is even better-we will need someone to start the campfire at our monthly team building campouts-we’ve lost a few employees due to using gas, propane and lighter fluid-all fire starting instruments have been banned from the premises

Must be motivated to ask questions-all answers will be in writing but will be mailed in triplicate as to answer a multitude of questions that need to be answered

Must have a car and be able to buy coffee with all the buzz terms

Must be savy in corporate speak-we will train

Must bring your own pen or pencil-due to budget cuts but we will provide a pen or pencil because we have specific pens and pencils you will be expected to use

We look forward to having you on our team, as long as you fit the criteria and can use

Management and manager in a cohesive sentence that is manageable.