We had some big fun on the Fourth of July!
Sparkle and Capella got invited to a Lake Party by their Besties, Sundance, Shiloh, and Sadie Rose. Off we went to the tracking test site — but not for tracking. FOR SWIMMING.
Sparkle LOVES to swim…
She swims on the Masters Team now that she is nine…
…and she hasn’t slowed down a bit!
And check this out — Capella is also a swimmer!
SO FUN!
Dear Daughter extended her Montana vacation and was here for a total of eight wonderful days. Here is what we did not do:
Float the river
Visit the Bison Range
Ride our bikes every day
Hike the “M” trail
Any other fun Montana thing
When she goes back to work and people ask her what cool things she did in Montana, I am not sure what she will tell them. Fed too many cookies to dogs?
Remembered why Sparkle is her favorite canine sister?
Rode in Trusty Rusty, my old but reliable truck?
Made a new friend we call Dump Lady — that blue shack is where our new and very nice friend spends a lot of time…
Dear Daughter reports that the half-marathon, which we did just after she recovered from Covid, was actually the easiest part of her week here.
Yep — we cleaned up.
And it was AWESOME.
So much gratitude to Dear Daughter — and I hope she invented some cool vacation stories to tell her colleagues while she drove home yesterday.
On February 25 — filled with the optimism of the morning (and caffeine) — I registered myself and Dear Daughter for the Missoula Half-Marathon. In my journal I wrote: “…having a goal seems important... Step One – get running shoes.”
Yesterday was the day. Despite having just recovered from Covid and needing to get up at what she considers a completely uncivilized hour, Dear Daughter joined me. That girl has GRIT.
Rather than deal with shuttle buses, we got permission to park at our veterinarian’s office and so we did that and walked the short way to the start. We were six minutes late and so were the last ones to start, which meant that we were followed by the police at first — one of the few times that such a situation feels fun…
But we did not stay last for too long, although I think it is a remarkable thing to do a half-marathon no matter where you end up…
There is something just so amazing about being in a moving community of people who are doing the same thing but for their own very personal reasons…
Missoula comes out to support the event — the signs and people are amazing…
This was my most favorite sign — it spoke to me for so many reasons and for so many people…
This sign was pretty awesome as well…
And then it was done…
My real start was back in February, when the dark clouds of disillusionment and the shrapnel from the Betrayal Bomb were still so thick in my air. When I posted my happy finish photo on Facebook, I wrote, “Take that, Adversity” but what I wanted to say was much more colorful and not appropriate for a general audience.
There is something very satisfying about transformation — and yes, I am more than a bit smug about running past and through all that whatever we want to call it. Literally and figuratively.
Take that, indeed.
And then we walked across the bridge towards our meet-up spot…
Big Dipper ice cream with our Designated Driver, Suzanne…
And then — because the day was still young and the clocks recently turned back fifty years — we went to a protest.
Everyone deserves to be wanted and loved and cared about/for — and I am not really talking about the protest actually.
What an amazing day. Worth every sore muscle.