Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write about a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-seventh day of the month is "Priority."
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On Friday, I was still in denial about the winter storm that was on its way. I was excited that we were planning on going to Iowa and Hannah was invited to go with us, so I thought I would spend Friday getting Hannah ready for a trip. First up was a trip to the dog park because I knew she'd expend a lot of energy. This was good because if we ended up taking her in the car on Saturday, she'd just sleep and if we did end up snowed in (sigh), she'd be less amped up for running in the snow.
Our dog park is pretty cool. Most of it is just acres of open space, but there's a small section of woods and I love how much Hannah loves this part of it.
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I love when Hannah plays with other dogs who are just her size.
(Also, I think this was the first trip to the dog park since she was given the all-clear to "just be a dog" from the vet that I really didn't worry about her wrestling or rolling around or anything. I just let her do what she wanted to do and didn't cringe whenever another dog jumped on her. It was really a delightful interlude.)
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| I don't even know if this other dog had people there. She just followed us around and she and Hannah played together nicely. |
Anyway, I did this because then she was all muddy and slobbery and I immediately took her to the dog bath at the car wash because I wanted her to be shiny and smell good when we took her to visit. All of this effort to bathe her was wasted, of course, because she mostly just laid around on Saturday when we did get tons of snow. My "clean dog" priority was clearly a mistake.
What's the most recent time you had change your plans because of things outside of your control?
I am so delighted that Hannah can now safely engage in fun activities. What a testament to her grit and to your loving care. I know it has been a long road, but the sheer joy of her improvement is wonderful! Is there anything better than the fact she "just gets to be a dog"?!!!
ReplyDeleteThe last time the winter weather really screwed up our plans was a deep-freeze back in February. My daughter was all set to go to an overnight camp and it sounded like so. much. fun. It was all she talked about for weeks. We had basically no snow and no cold weather up until this point, and then the weekend she was scheduled to go away we had a bitterly cold (like -40C/F) weekend with high winds and a lot of snow. NOT a safe environment to send 40 middle-schoolers to a camp in the woods. Sigh. So that was cancelled and we all stayed home literally trapped while the wind howled. Miraculously we didn't lose power (the wind was crazy!)...but it was a huge bummer.
I can hardly believe that Hannah is a real dog! She actually tried to jump up a tree to get at a squirrel on Saturday afternoon and I should have been upset with her for her bad leash behavior, but I was just so excited for her! We haven't heard her cry from pain in months and I'm so grateful for her.
DeleteIt does suck that Abby was so disappointed, but it seems like weird planning to have an camping outing planned for February in a cold-weather climate? Is this something they've done successfully in the past?
This was the first year; the middle school group got stuck with the horrible weekend, but the high school weekend went ahead as planned and the weather was perfect. Hopefully it works next year because the premise is COOL...it just happened to be literally too cool to have it go ahead safely.
DeleteInteresting. We did do a full week of "winter camp" in sixth grade. We did a lot of snowshoeing, learning to use a compass (this did not stick for me), and other activities outside. Hm. Well, I hope it does go better for Abby next year!
DeleteWell, we don't have snow but we do have hurricanes here. And the annoying thing is, they'll cancel everything if it even looks like a hurricane might hit us, which then it usually doesn't and we sit around all day feeling like our activities were canceled for nothing.
ReplyDeletePoor Hannah, having a bath for nothing! I would say overall her life is pretty good now though.
Yes! It's exactly like the hurricane preparation. Most of the time they forecast 12-15 inches of snow and we get two! So I thought that's what this was going to be, but this time it wasn't. Ha.
DeleteAh Stinky Season is upon us! My dog's favorite trick is to get a bath and then to try to roll in something stinky on the next walk.
ReplyDeleteHannah does this exact same move, so she's kept on a tight leash until I can justify another trip to the dog wash!
DeleteWhat a lovely wooded pathway.
ReplyDeleteWe had plans to go to dinner at my son and his fiancee's home, which we had not yet seen, two weekends ago. Unfortunately, she tested positive for Covid upon returning from a business trip. Nothing cancels/changes lots of plans quite as quickly as that.
Isn't it crazy to think how "positive COVID test" has changed our world. If only we had known in December 2019 what it would mean in March 2023. *sigh* I'm sorry your plans were changed, but happy to hear you're being safe!
DeleteYour dog park actually has a trail and not just an open field. That’s neat.
ReplyDeleteFor almost 20 years now, it seems like every winter hwy trip to my urologist in Smith Falls ir problematic. It’s crazy. We have actually cancelled a couple of visits.
Yes, our dog park is AMAZING. It's over 100 acres and divided into four separate areas. The biggest area where we were is for large dogs and it's a path of about a mile all the way around it. It's a mix of prairie, path, and woods. It's really a great amenity for our area.
DeleteI can't believe how far away you have to drive to see your specialist. Hopefully soon you'll break that curse!
Sometimes it's easier to focus on the things we can control than what we can't, I get that for sure. Could you make it not snow? No. But you can get that dog clean!
ReplyDeleteAnd clean she is! Until all this snow melts and she turns into a mud puppy!
DeleteWhat a pretty dog park! And yay for a clean dog.
ReplyDeleteWe are so lucky to have our dog park. It's one of the best in the state, although upon closer inspection, it looks like we're surrounded by awesome dog parks, so maybe I should take Hannah for more adventures!
DeleteYay for Hannah! Yay for dog parks! I'm gathering that Hannah had been sick, so I'm extra happy for your normalcy and frolic.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry, I should have explained about Hannah for new people. She had an infection in her spine and was in pain for a long time. We kept trying to find an antibiotic that would treat it, but it was a stubborn infection. She had scans in December of last year that showed improvement, so we've been slowly tapering medications. It's been a very long road with her health and that makes even bog standard trips to the dog park super exciting for us!
Deletehttps://ngradstudent.blogspot.com/2022/12/21-hat-frosty-snowman.html
Ugh, Christmas when my sister's family couldn't come because of the first of many, many end-of-the-week winter storms. I just bought new dog shampoo because I'd had the current bottle since Lucy was a puppy and I was sick of the smell, and then happily when I got home I realized it was pretty much empty anyway.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, your poor Christmas celebration that ended up in February! Grrrr. Weather and illness ruins everything!
DeleteTrying to think of the last time my plans were derailed... Hm. Minor ones, yes, but nothing like a road trip or anything like that. I'll keep thinking. ;)
ReplyDeleteI am SO GLAD to hear that Hannah is being a dog, as the universe intended. What a wonderful, wonderful outcome for you and for her! Your time and love definitely made a difference. <3