The Sunrise Happiness Ritual

Life can be so difficult at times, with all the pain and obstacles it presents. My coping method is making sure that I do the things that I love - like seeing winter sunrises with Shyla. That is something that almost always makes me happy.

Shyla doesn't know it - but, when she looks at me like this, I'd do anything that she asked of me!

This morning, she wanted to play, rather than lie still, almost right after sunrise. So, I complied.

After each retrieve, she hands me her toy and takes off for the next throw. Shyla adores retrieving.

The Runner and I are amazed by how orthopedically sound Shyla is. Except for a freak broken ulna when she first arrived with us, her body has been strong.

Shyla's soundness particularly amazes us because R's elbow worries us. Almost every day, we have a brief discussion of whether either of us has seen him limp that day. We know he's almost certain to need a very new kind of elbow reconstructive surgery within his lifetime but we want to wait as long as possible before doing it. He's not allowed to retrieve because it's too tough on a dog's body. That's why Shyla and I play fetch in the mornings, when R is out having fun with the Runner.

This morning, after we finished our game of fetch, we headed off for some steady movement, with me pedaling my new fatbike and Shyla running along side me. I feel so lucky to have our peaceful trails with views of the Continental Divide in the distance.

The peacefulness of sunrise in the mountains is something that makes me smile daily. I feel lucky.