Middle Age for Our Dear Dog

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

My dear dog Leo, age 5, has sprouted a silver whisker from each cheek. Seda noticed the first and I, the second. I felt so grateful for her noticing. We help each other out with such observations. It is one of the many gifts of friendship, isn’t it?

Leo is precious to me, and yet I nearly missed this gentle transition for him. I am thankful to enter this season with Leo. The physical marker reminds me to notice and appreciate that he is calming and becoming more open-minded, less ball-focused.

As much as I’ve enjoyed his youth, I have eagerly awaited this season. I imagine what activities we could share in the upcoming year to harvest the full potential of our relationship. Perhaps our first backpacking trip together in the early summer of 2023.

Is there someone dear to you who is growing and changing in ways that provide an opportunity for welcome shift in your relationship? Have you made time to open your heart and mind, to feel into what this means for you and for them? What kinds of things might be possible now for you to share together that were not available before?