Man…gratitude. I hate those weeks when I get near the end and start to write this entry and I can’t think of anything to write. That says to me that I spent the week being only mindful of the tasks that I need to accomplish each day and nothing else. My focus was seriously narrowed to work this week since it was my first full week in the office in over a year. That’s every day of packing a lunch, putting on a bra and driving my car to a place other than my house. It felt good. It feels good. I took advantage of my standing desk and I got more daily steps. I was finally able to get ahead on that mountain of slides I have to image, but I’m not gonna lie. I need a real hard nap.

I knew this week was going to be a difficult adjustment for Josephine who had gotten used to me being at home with her all day for two or three days in a row. At home days meant more snuggles, more playtime moments and (weather permitting) a good walk. I made it my goal to get up half an hour earlier every morning so I could do thirty minutes of exercise and take Josephine on a walk before getting ready for work. We have walked every morning except one because I thought it was raining. It wasn’t. The morning I thought it wasn’t raining, it was actually raining, but we were out the door before we knew what was happening. We walked in the rain anyway. On the mornings when I just didn’t think I could get out of bed early enough to do an X-tend Barre class or get on the rowing machine and do a walk, I chose the walk. And I am so happy I did.

I had forgotten how great those early morning walks could be. The neighborhood is at its quietest at this hour in the morning and at times it feels like Josephine and I are the only two people in the city. That might be an unsettling feeling for some, but I find that in those moments, my brain sparks with creative thoughts and words form a script for various scenes in my head. It’s still dark when we leave the house and the wet and chilly weather makes everything seem moody and dramatic. This morning we stepped outside into a thick fog and frost on the ground. I could not stop marveling over the way the fog and frost transformed the landscape. The way the street lights split the sheets of fog was hypnotizing and I paused often to take some pictures.

Before I leave the house in the mornings, Josephine gets two small cookies. The first cookie she gets after doing whatever trick I’ve asked her to do. Sit up, roll over, down and stay are all in her repertoire and sometimes she gets so excited that she will do all of the above before I can even tell her which trick to perform. The first cookie also comes with pets and love and a lot of words from me about how she is such a smart, wonderful little dog and I love her so so much. This morning, I spent a few extra minutes petting Josephine. I thanked her for our morning walks and then I said “Wait, I want to thank you for all that you do for me.” She looked up at me, slightly quivering with anticipation for the second cookie but obviously torn between receiving more love and devotion and the second cookie. So I stood up and said ‘okay’ which is her signal to head to her crate. She always makes a beeline for that crate and will be sitting there waiting for that second cookie. She’s very treat motivated, but aren’t we all.

So I didn’t get in thirty minutes of some form of exercise on two days this week. No biggie. I did get on my yoga mat everyday. Really, the most important part of this week were those morning walks. I don’t have to look hard to see the gratitude in those moments.