Untethered Dog

31 December

• Spending exactly two cents under the full gift card amount.
• Spending exactly 38 cents over the threshold for free shipping.
• New shoes.
• Adding color to your wardrobe.
• Skipping the fast-food you had your eye on.
• A tired little buddy.
• Heavy squats.
• Snow that is lighter today than it was yesterday.
• Ribeye dinner.
• 2019. For the events of this year made you more competent, more confident and more secure — and never more ready to resume the work you are here to do.

30 Monday

• Sitting in your shit.
• Taking a day off from your phone.
• Compost days for the mind.
• Writing that makes you cry.
• Snow that pretties everything up.
• Cabbage.

29 Sunday

• Leftover pizza shared with a friend.
• When you are moved to go somewhere at an illogical time … and then you go … and you find out why … and it makes you happy the rest of the day.

28 Saturday

• Making it on a day when the roads are like ice rinks.
• Great conversions.
• Prunes.
• Witnessing another’s vulnerability.
• Personal break-throughs.
• Ginger chicken and broccoli.
• The faint whiff of a summer barbecue while driving during the middle of winter. No idea!

27 Friday

• Yearly planners.
• Eggs for dinner.
• Bookstores.
• Lessening the pile of mail and other miscellany.
• The smell of ginger cooking in the oven.
• Time to breath and think and do and be.
• Winter afternoon sun.
• Being keenly aware of what is important to you.

26 Thursday

• When everything falls into place precisely when you thought you were going to be pressed for time.
• Going to the bank when it’s nighttime.
• Paying down debt.
• Cereal for dinner.

25 Wednesday

• The fact that once a year, whether you are naughty or nice, John McClane comes to town and saves the day.
• The animals who provide us with our meals.
• The anticipation of time off.
• When you can talk politics over the holidays.
• Generous gifts.
• Homemade whipped cream over cocoa cake.
• Surprising someone with sweetness.

24 Tuesday

• Moments of peace.
• Working on holidays.
• Salmon.
• Calm.
• Mornings.
• Power hours.
• The anticipation of time off.
• A gift that is a little bit goofy and a little bit sweet.
• Your thoughtfulness.

23 Monday

• The way a sporting event can suck you in.
• Candlelight.
• Letting things play out.
• Being OK if they don’t work out.
• Squats.
• Half days.
• Holidays.
• Helping out.
• Positive feedback.
• Making someone feel comfortable through laughter.

22 Sunday

• Deadlifts.
• Working out with a new friend.
• Glorious sun.
• When the days get longer.
• Starting the day in the very best way, with writing that moves you.
• When a team member walks you to the right aisle rather than just pointing in that general direction.
• Prunes.
• When you find exactly the right Christmas card.

21 Saturday

• Home.
• Vagabon’s “Waters Me Down.
• The healing power of a single meal.
• Any moment of regret or sadness that makes you reaffirm what is most important to you.
• The shortest day of the year.
• Push-ups.

20 Friday

• Love.
• Meatloaf.
• Mashed potatoes.
• Green beans.
• The idea of heart-red shades.
• Southwestern colors.
• Honesty.
• Avocado flatbread.
• Finding the glass-speckled bowl you didn’t know you were looking for.

19 Thursday

• When the gas bill goes down in December.
• When your dog likes your massage so much you can see the relief in his face.
• Adam Schiff.
• Alpha waves.
• Nancy Pelosi.
• Apples.
• Not forcing it.
• The chance to be creative at work.
• Lactose-free milk.
• This day and the opportunities it holds.

18 Wednesday

• Morning clarity.
• When you are driving down the street and the answer of what to get someone for Christmas just comes to you.
• Pull-ups.
• Broccoli slaw.
• Your dog’s eyes.
• When the day ahead looks like it will include a lot of good!

17 Tuesday

• A clean home.
• Fiber.
• Irritability.
• PepperJack Cheese.
• Solid sleep.
• Extra time in the morning.
• Journalists committed to truth.
• Dry chicken.

16 Monday

• Sundays.
• Writing partners.
• Reconnecting to the most important story.
• Complimentary coffee from Caribou.
• Running into someone you want to run into at the grocery store.
• Saying hello.
• Early bedtime. A good book. A warm blanket.

15 Sunday

• Dreams that take some figuring out.
• The power of the unconscious.
• Sleep.
• Your hair stylist.
• Having just enough food to get through the day, including a three-month-old box of Mac-n-Cheese.
• Better late than never.

14 Saturday

• A home-cooked meal prepared especially for you.
• Great wine. Just enough.
• Energy that comes from being with another.
• Cheese and crackers.
• The best laughter: shared laughter — the jokes only two people know.

13 Friday

• When there is nothing especially scary about your day.
• Taking time for adult you.
• Perfume.
• Bowls.
• Moist sugar cookies that are somehow, amazingly, just sweet enough.

12 Thursday

• Vaccines.
• Water.
• Smiles.
• Laughter.
• Clocks.
• Art.
• Anticipation.
• Yogurt. Plain Greek yogurt.

11 Wednesday

• Chocolate.
• The chance to teach.
• The chance to write something that could help someone.
• Honesty.
• Risk.
• Adam Schiff.

10 Tuesday

• Whoever cleared my sidewalk on a cold night.
• Heat. My god, the heat!
• Being your own coach.
• Taking it one day at a time.
• Mobility practice.
• Sun lamp light.
• Memories of a funny night.
• Brioche.

9 Monday

• Car rides with my dog.
• Pet store coupons.
• Finding out you were wrong about someone.
• Eye drops.
• Brussel sprouts.
• Insecurities. They ain’t all bad.
• Feeling more secure in what you do and who you do it with at work.
• Pillows.
• Vulnerabilities. Where all the good stuff is.
• Turkey without the stuffing.
• Connection. Even if across states and time and ages.

8 Sunday

• Days off.
• Long mornings.
• Extra rest.
• More time with the little buddy.
• When sleep gets in your eyes.
• Water.
• The washing machine.
• Honesty.
• The capacity to be honest when being honest might cost you something.
• Nancy Pelosi.

7 Saturday

• Free pizza.
• Extra dough. Cash, that is.
• A workout that energizes you.
• Steak for breakfast.

6 Friday

• Loss.
• Facing fears.
• Not holding on.
• Not chasing.
• Letting go.
• Relief.
• Learning from your actions. Not even learning from your mistakes, really, because sometimes the learning opportunities aren’t wrong actions per se — just instances in which you identify that it might be helpful to take a different tact at a future time.
• The value of having and building equity in multiple areas. When you get disappointed by something in one area you can lift yourself up on the foundation of another area.
• Coffee.
• Momentum.
• Being in a highly energized environment. It’s draining and intoxicating at the same time.
• Sadness.
• A cheeseburger after a stressful day.

 

5 Thursday

• Dreaming of your little buddy finally catching the squirrel.
• Late-night texts.
• Morning naps.
• Reading a mediocre memoir.
• Writing during the work day.
• Memories of past jobs.
• Always having access to a piece of chicken.
• Going weeks without spending money in the cafeteria at work.
• Seeing progress as a saver.
• Seeing progress in the form of a faster metabolism.
• Seeing progress toward paying down a debt.
• Darkness. Especially in the morning.
• Motion sensor lights.

 

4 Wednesday

• Three words: free chocolate milk.
• Extra time to teach.
• The chance to teach with writing.
• Realizing you can handle another’s disappointment so well now. (Used to be a particular challenge for you.)
• Steak and spinach salad.
• Squirrels that still run around like it’s not winter.
• Warm evenings for winter walks.
• Your dog’s breath. Still on a great pace.
• The chance to make a little extra cash before the holidays.

 

3 Tuesday

• Busy days.
• New opportunities.
• Security.
• Smiles.
• Your breath.
• Being enough.
• Feeling pumped.
• Baked beans.

 

2 Monday

• Compost Days: days when you rest extra, yet remain gently active, writing and reading and letting life energy replenish.
• Waking up alive.
• Not giving in to fear.
• Not reacting from the original wound.
• Chicken drumsticks.
• Clarity of purpose.
• Spinach.
• Choosing greater self-trust.
• Looking out the window in the morning the day after it snowed almost all day and seeing the path you shoveled is still clear.

 

1 Sunday

• Real conversation.
• Sweet lips.
• Calm canines.
• Colby Jack cheddar.
• Living the dream.
• Dreaming the life.
• Extra groceries.
• Getting the groceries a day early so you don’t have to go anywhere on the usual day to get groceries, Sunday.
• A day to rest. After the shoveling is done, of course.
• Finishing a notebook.
• Starting a new month.
• Not being in a hurry.
• Asking the right question at the right time.