Act first, think later.

So this may not be the best advice in all situations, but it definitely promotes living in the moment. Enjoy the here and now and you likely won't have many regrets later, right? People tend to regret things they didn't do, not things they did. In the simplest of ways, our dogs live this motto every day.

Example: Grace can easily clear the fence in our backyard, often playing with neighbor dogs on their home turf, much to the dismay of their owners (we're working on this). We never imagine Pete would be able to clear the fence due to his low center of gravity and hearty waistline. We found we were wrong. Several nights ago, I put Pete in the backyard so I could go for a run without worrying about cleaning up an "accident" when I returned home. I made it almost out of our neighborhood when I looked down to realize that Pete was running with me. We turned around, ran home, and I put him in the house. This morning they went out to go to the bathroom before I left for work. Grace jumped the fence, and adrenaline must have, in turn, lifted Pete over the fence. When I called them back in, Grace bounced right back into the yard and pranced into the house. Pete, on the other hand, was stranded in a strange backyard with no remaining adrenaline to lift him back over. A couple pitiful jumps proved futile. Just as I was about to pull out of the driveway to circle the block and free him through their gate, he must have realized the seriousness of the situation, and fear of punishment gave him the boost he needed to catapault back into our yard.

Act first, think later. Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission; that's the dog's motto. Even as he was getting scolded for leaving the yard, his tail was still wagging which was frustrating at best. Grace knows she's smarter and faster than me so her scolding fell on deaf ears.

Chris and I have both realized lately that life has become increasingly busy and slowing down to enjoy things has become impossible. We're going to try to take this weekend to just relax and spend time together before he leaves for the field for six weeks. I'm sure the pups will enjoy the undivided attention : )

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." - Edward Hoagland