walking

I pretty much gave up walking last summer when our two furry pals, Dexter and Comet, were no longer on this mortal plane. Friends and neighbors who were also dog-people asked us how soon, not whether, we would adopt again. “Am I being selfish not running out to the shelters to adopt again?”, I think. With young grandchildren in our care frequently, it becomes a question of knowing the backstories of dogs that are no longer puppies. And as we have seen with our neighbors, bringing puppies into ones’ home tends to require all sorts of special training. Puppies are boisterous, and this might be a little challenging with very small children to also corral. We will likely wait till our granddaughter turns 3 before looking again. I do know she is fascinated by all sorts of creatures including the puppies next door, the fish in my backyard pond and even the on-again, off-again, erstwhile feral calico that has come around again – at mealtime.

I still am feeling the urge to go on dog-walks.

For these and other reasons, my spouse and I are joining the dog-walkers, high school cross-country boys and girls, cyclists and older adults -in demonstrably far better shape – on the walking trails at Mission Trails Park this summer. And as we become more scheduled on the times we go walking – very early morning before the heat begins, or just before dusk when the heat is manageable -we see some of the same people. As we were walking one recent morning, about halfway on our 4-mile circuit, we encountered a fellow walking we have chatted with before. His work schedule permits him to got do things he enjoys doing, like taking his dog places. His cockapoo, which by the third day seeing us, regards us as old friends, is a specially trained therapy animal that he brings to hospitals to interact with patients.

I may not have a therapy animal, but I am looking to do volunteer work with others. And I need to get in shape to do the things I have done in my youth like hiking. And at lunch today with 2 couples we have known for 25 years, both are doing radical things in their late middle age, like hiking local mountains at dawn and going to hike the John Muir Trail in the next couple of months.

Dog or no, we are motivated to begin the routine again.