Little Blessings

Do you ever have a moment where you just stop and look around and are amazed at the little blessings? This happened to me this past week. While I live in Texas, I do a lot of dogsitting. As I’m here during the summer and over the fall/winter holidays, this schedule has started filling up dramatically. So much so, that my calendar for June is just about full, and July is getting there. The past three days are the only free days I have until July fourth, oddly enough.

I love playing with and watching other people’s dogs. I love seeing the varieties in breed, temperament, and play. I love teaching them a few things here and there to see their eyes light up. If you’ve never taught a dog a trick and seen the moment in their eyes when they suddenly get it, I encourage you to try. It’s a wonderful moment. And it tires them out mentally so that the human can get a chance to sit down. But mainly the light in the eyes moment. I love being with dogs and watching them and playing with them, and don’t mind cleaning up accidents when they happen.

As I said, the last three days were the first “open days” I’ve had in a while. It was while I was working at my desk two days ago that I looked over and saw this:

Y’all. I about melted. As I said, I love dogsitting. But it’s the days like this when the Lord reminds me of the little blessings in my life. The blessing that I have a dog that doesn’t cover my clothes in hair. That I have a dog that doesn’t lick my scraped knee until it hurts again (true story). That I have a dog that knows how to settle down and sleep while I work. That my dog doesn’t want to come in and go out every two minutes.

These little blessings are what really make life worth living. Sure, every once in a while you have something big happen, like, oh, I don’t know, writing an Amazon #1 New Release. You can’t depend on those to happen as often as I’ve found that we as humans need a pick me up, though. This is why I’ve learned to appreciate the little blessings of the adorableness of a sleeping dog.

The ways your dog comes up with to look out the window and still be watching you.

The fluff ball a poodle is when you let them grow out too long.

The legs-too-long-for-their-body, gremlin-looking creature they become when you shave them.

The sheer amount of hair that came off your poodle in the two hours between those pictures (foot for scale.)

And–a bit off topic, here–the feeling of writing five thousand words in a day.

How your dog reacts when you go to grab his dinner.

Going for a walk or rollerblade.

It’s the little blessings that blow across my heart and make me glad to be alive. Don’t get me wrong, finishing and publishing a book is great. It’s the little blessings I truly couldn’t live without, though. The little blessings that make just want to wrap my arms around my dog and hug him so tight and thank him for being mine. 

The little blessings like a warm bed, a clean room, and having a craft sale/book signing on Saturday. (Hint, hint!)

Thank y’all for being some of the little blessings in my life; I’ll be forever grateful to know you!

As always,

You were not born to fail,

(so appreciate the scenery on your journey)

Lauryn