Trixie is rather obsessed by the wildlife in the backyard of our rental house and is often joined by brother Boo at the sliding glass door as they watch the doves, quail, finches, woodpeckers, rabbits, lizards, and the like. I can’t help but think of Emma as I watch them and wonder what she would have made of all this, I could almost identify what bird had flown into our yard in Portland by the nature of her chirps.
Some days it feels like everything has changed since we moved to Arizona but it’s not true. Boo still loves his Boo Boxes. Boo still has no bones.
The past number of months have worn me out. Sometimes physically, sometimes mentally, often both. That hasn’t changed in Arizona, although now I’m more often tired for positive reasons. It hasn’t helped that I’ve been getting up at 4 a.m. to go hiking on my days off, but mentally it has helped tremendously. The exercise has been good for me too.
I am certainly tired of filling out a seemingly endless stream of paperwork. Every time I think I’m through the worst of it another wave follows. The constant need to make decisions has at least slowed dramatically and life has begun to take on a rhythm. Mentally I’m more upbeat than I’ve been in a long time, even if I’m falling asleep not long after dinner.
For all the stress of the past half year, I think every day about how blessed I am. I know many are not so fortunate. I had a wonderful time on the trails this morning and came home and spent one-on-one time with each of the pets. Then my wife and I were off to get some paperwork notarized and sent off, then it was back home to sort through some pictures. Now as the light fades I think I’ll go for a quick swim.
Maybe tonight I’ll sleep like Samwise.
