Tag: dogs

six years

Six years ago my 12-year-old and I went to go pick up a puppy, who came from a farm outside Grande Prairie. We were a few months into a pandemic that rendered restaurants as uninhabitable wastelands, and live music as an assault on the public.

I kid; of course, but sometimes I have to stop and consider the notion that EVER performing music in front of actual people again was up in the air, and all aspects of my livelihood were under threat.

We brought home a 6-week old, 17-lb great dane cross and completely changed our lives forever. At first, in the chaotic way… but ultimately in the best way. I can’t imagine my life without this amazing creature, who somehow manages to house 7000 lbs of character inside that tiny (ha!) 145lb frame.

Kirby. The best dude.
I knew within moments that he was going to give me a real rough time in the future… the distant future, though, right?
He’s blessed us with good health, amazing companionship, and more love than anyone should ever be able to claim. And after 6 years, countless disemboweled squeaky toys, innumerable devoured watermelons, and relentless protection from package delivery people and political canvassers alike, I can only hope and pray for another 6 years, followed by another 6 years.

My sweet boy.

I have to stop typing now.
He’s watching me type this… and it’s time to friggin’ WRASTLE!

the end of the year

It’s coming up quick… resolution time.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you know I couldn’t care less about resolutions, particularly around the new year. I’m a firm believer that the new year starts when you make a change in your life, not the other way around.

I became vegan on March 28, 2000. That was the start of a New Year.
I started working for the company I work for in September of 2011. New Year.
I started training for a triathlon in September of 2021. New Year.

Usually for me, it’s in September or October – which; as I type this, I realize I missed the anniversary of me starting this blog. I guess I’ve been too focused on making the changes I’ve wanted to make to stop and look around at what I’ve accomplished. And… that’s okay… it’s okay that I missed it, and it’s okay that my focus was elsewhere.

I do what I can to stay in the present moment… just like my dog.
He’s a constant reminder of the present moment.
He’s hungry when he’s hungry, he wants to play when he wants to play… not a moment before or after. When we’re walking and I have to pry chicken bones out of his mouth, he’s mad at me in the moment – but a moment later, he’s over it, and he reminds me of this, because I am still pissed off about it moments later, and he’s very irritatingly past it. I strive for this.

However, when I’m making plans for the future, and celebrating the past, I’m not in the moment. I’m living in the future or the past – but rarely the present.

That’s what I want.
More and More, I want that.
But I’m staring at my phone too much.

I actually make my living in nostalgia, both in my day job and in my art… but when I’m playing LIVE, or in the throes of MAKING a record (which I am currently involved in) I am IN the moment and it’s amazing.

And as I typed all that, I was in the moment.
That’s why it was a bit of a tangent.

Anyway… nostalgia is okay.
The past and future are okay.
There’s no shame in thinking about those things, I guess.
We’re geared to think about those things.
But to be truly in the moment is magic.

Not staring at my phone.
Not thinking about how long I have to wait until the snow melts.
Not thinking about New Year’s resolutions.

In the here and now.
And right here, right now, it’s Saturday Morning.
Isn’t that amazing?