Happy Dance

As I write, there is a very long-haired dog sound asleep beside me. The curly one is on his bed in the living room -- his usual morning position.

My body is relaxed but tired today. I somehow thought that ending my teaching career would give me more time, but as of late, I've been busy. That's not a bad place to be considering, but it's not the place I thought I'd be. I worked last night at the pool -- apprenticing actually -- after spending the day walking dogs. Standing in a warm pool after walking 5 or 7 miles is exactly what my tired feet need, but both jobs are physical. Therefore, I'm tired -- a good tired, but tired all the same.

Still, like Woobie in the photo above, I find myself doing the Happy Dance...well, that and pinching myself. "Is this really my life?" I wake up asking. "Am I really making a living working with dogs?"

Okay, so I'm not rolling in the dough and I'm lucky to have Ann who has both a frugal approach to life and a good paying job, but still, I'm holding up my end of the financial part of our marriage and doing something I love. There's a lot to be said for that -- marriage and work I love -- and that's why I keep pinching myself. I keep reviewing exactly how I got here and most of it feels like a cosmic combination of luck and timing.

And dare I sound like one of those woo-woo guests on Oprah, there is something divine in trusting both my instincts and the universe. Sure, I still have the bad habit of worrying too much and an even worse habit of wondering if I've faked my way here and am actually not as good as everything thinks I am, but those feelings are not as intense anymore. Which I guess is to say that I'm trusting more -- trusting that perhaps I am good enough, perhaps I am competent and kind, perhaps I got here by my own character and not so much by chance.

While Woobie's Happy Dance exemplifies how I'm feeling about where I've landed, Rubin's levitation is also representational of each day when I realize I am in this amazing place in my life. "Hey," I find myself saying as Rubin is doing in this photo, "Look what I can do?"

Maybe I should write a book that will land me an interview on Oprah. Instead of "Eat, Pray, Love" it could be "Walk, Water, and Wonder." Even though some days the reality is more like "Poop, Rain, and Wrinkled Skin" either way, I'm still dancing and walking through my life a few inches off the ground.