Snapshot: Loki playing in the grass

In the quiet of the night, at home or at work, I've taken to writing about the little moments in life. Moments that may seem insignificant but that encourage, restore and challenge me. Moments that could slip away and go unnoticed. Moments that, when put in writing or in a jpeg file, are little snapshots of daily life. Not the big trips, events or milestones but the smaller things that shape everyday life. 

Taking Loki for a walk is perpetually on our to-do list. When we wake up it has to be done, before going to bed we need to take him out and during the day he does better with a long walk or bike ride. Usually I walk him with a goal in mind, whether it be a time goal (30 minutes) or a destination (the waterfall in the park). The other day, though, I was still in my pajamas and he was looking at my expectantly so I grabbed a sweatshirt, put the long leash on him and went out the patio door. We meandered around the small area of grass outside of our apartment. I sat down in the shade and Loki sniffed and tried to dig in the newly laid dirt at the base of the tree. He rubbed his whole body in the grass, an action that I think has something to do with scents but I like to think that it means he is blissfully happy. He comes over to me, rolls over and I scratch his belly. The birds sing in the trees and the summer breeze lifts my hair and I just sit, enjoying the time with my dog. There is no agenda and no plan and while both of those things have their place, I think both of us need time to just sit and be together. Without training or working on walking on a loose leash, without the distractions of the tv or my laptop, even without toys or playing fetch down the hallway, sometimes it is nice to simply be.