During one of the training runs, I asked the other runners what their "power running animal" would be. They all shared things like 

• gazelle
• Impala
• unicorn, and
• "Buzz saw" (my husband misunderstood and told us what Power TOOL he would be), 

We went to Cuba on one of those Rancho Relaxo type vacations.  I read two full books.  Thumbs up for both of them.

Es Cuba - Life and Love on an Illegal Island by Lea Aschkenas

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner



 

Maybe it's this winter weather dragging on, but today I feel like having abit of a rant. And quite out of the blue, I feel like ranting about BOOK CLUBS. 

I am ALL FOR an excuse for a group of women to get together on a Saturday afternoon.  I think this should, however, revolve around food, coffee, movies, pets, or just conversation.  The reading and talking about books wrecks it for me. 

For one thing, women seem to want only to read books that involve despair, drama and heartache. In the book club world, the book is not worth talking about unless the protagonist is beaten by her husband, dying of cancer, or languishing in a concentration camp (or Saskatchewan). In the first book club I was in, one woman always wanted to talk about the traumatic sexual assault in the book - EVEN WHEN NONE HAD TAKEN PLACE.  This book club completely freaked me out.

But I joined a second one. When my time to choose the book came around, I always chose something light and funny. I'd then end up feeling like the literary equivalent of Homer Simpson as the other members quickly gave their opinions on my book, and changed the subject to the latest Giller prize winner.

So, moral of the story - reading should be a secret, private pastime that you never discuss with anyone you know. O, you dropped the ball on this one.

As we walk through the mourning of Mo, I am super touched and grateful for all the support that has come our way.  Friends, family and coworkers have all showered us with cards, gifts, words of support, hugs and love and concern. 

This moves me on a few levels. First of all – we need this extra TLC as we grieve the loss of a big part of our lives. Secondly, I appreciate that I am surrounded by people that understand that the death of an animal is a very real, large, and painful loss.  I love that the people in our lives understand that the love and connection we feel with our pets is a very real and vital part of our lives and our family. 

And having shared our lives with Mo for so long means that I can bump into people who I haven't seen in months (or years), and they feel a sense of sadness when I tell them about Mo.  They remember him (and me) from 10 or even 15 years ago.  Person or dog - this IS family.  Someone that connects you to your own history and is a part of who you are.

I was researching the meaning of tattoos, and came across a description of the anchor.  Aside from its obvious naval connections, one writer referred to an anchor tattoo as symbolic of "a stable and grounding relationship".  Mo came into my life when I was 19 years old, and very much in need of some stability and grounding.  I think he was looking for the same thing.  I hope I provided him with half as much as he gave me.

As soon as I brought Mo home as a year old Border collie, I began to trust that dog's instincts and opinions of people. If Mo didn't like someone, I didn't like someone.  If Mo approved, I trusted that fully.   

While watching Barack Obama's inauguration today, I said to myself "I think Mo would really like this guy". Later I read that the Obama's are going to adopt the Presidential dog from an animal shelter. As if we needed another reason to love Barack and the whole Obama family.

Mo, who found his way to us via the Toronto Humane Society,  would most certainly agree that the U.S. President is off to a grand start.