Just a Girl and Her Dog

Just a Girl and Her Dog

Henry and I were in a bit of mourning when we took our walk today.

It's August, and the back-to-school ads are in full-swing. Our summer is winding down, and with it, our endless days of spending time together.

Our summers aren't anything special, not to the outsider. Our summers are simply days when we don't have anywhere we have to be, anyone we have to impress, or anything we have to do. It's a time of messy hair and an unpainted face. It's heels traded in for flip-flops, and professional dresses traded for leggings and T-shirts.

Our summers aren't about exotic travel or once-in-a-lifetime encounters. For Henry and me, our summer is about the simple moments we have together every single day.
It's relaxing on the couch with an extra cup of coffee, watching too many hours of the Today Show. It's time on the deck, observing our neighborhood and playing in Henry's favorite sprinkler.

Summer's a time of late lunches and naps together. It's a time of walks in the neighborhood, a slow, ambling pace because there's no rush. It's too many snacks and way too much ice cream. It's trips to the local parks and walks to local businesses. It's Chinese food for lunch on a Tuesday because why not.

It's trips to visit family and friends on a whim. Summer is watching the sun go down and watching movies and sharing a popsicle. It's lemonade and trips to Poochey Chef.
It's really nothing special... it's just special because we get to spend time together.
I know once fall comes, we'll still have our adventures together. There will be autumn festivals and surprise snow days and all sorts of things in between.

But as summer ends, I always mourn it a little bit. As much as I love teaching, I know I'll miss the endless days of spending time with those big brown eyes and exploring life together. I'll miss the stress-free days of just existing, just playing, just living.

With each passing summer, I become more acutely aware that there won't always be a summer of Henry and me. Some year, a year that will come way too fast because dogs' lives are way too short, we'll have our last summer together. We won't even know it at the time. We'll be in the middle of last walks and last ice creams and last trips to the park without even knowing. Some day, I'll look back on our pictures from that last summer alone, facing all those adventures without my trusty pal at the end of the leash in my hand.

I don't want to think about those days.

So for now, Henry and I are going to enjoy every last second of this summer. We're going to take more walks and eat more ice cream. We're going to take too many selfies and play with his Jolly Ball in the yard until we both pass out. We're going to laugh and play and enjoy being what we love being the most:

Just a girl and her mastiff.

Just a girl and her dog.

Just a girl and her absolute best friend.

It's been a great #summer2017. Let's keep enjoying it. Visit meon Facebook for more behind-the-scenes at the writer's life.