NOT a Big, Black Dog

This is Jake. He’s a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. I bet most of you have never even heard of one before!! This is the fourth one I’ve known personally – Dad likes them. First there were Robbie and Charlie, then Sandy, now there’s Jake. They all had much longer, Scottish names.

I spent Wednesday afternoon with Dad and Jake for a while. Jake’s four, and a retriever, and he’s not getting enough exercise cuz Dad’s knee doesn’t allow walking the dog, and his general level of weakness after the crisis at Easter doesn’t let him stand around and throw a ball much. My sister goes up a couple of times a week and does as much as she can.

Wednesday, I threw the ball for half-an-hour. I haven’t played baseball since six years ago. So, I haven’t thrown for that long. My shoulder twinged a little after, and I thought it would hurt like heck the next day, but it didn’t.

And I’ll tell you something. I’ve been thinking about mindfulness. Throwing a ball for a dog is nuthin’ BUT mindful. You focus on how wet and slippery the ball is (it’s not disgusting if you love the dog); and the motion of the throw; and how he finds it when you throw it over that way instead; and how happy he looks bringing it back; and how it’s time for him to stop and drink some water now cuz it’s hot. I TOTALLY recommend it as a practice for staying in the moment and for doing something for someone else.