Last month marks two years since I said goodbye to my sweet puppy girl, Kallie. Our ten-and-a-half-year life together shaped a lot of who I am. As I wrote after her death, she boldly shepherded me from an old life that didn’t fit anymore into the beginning of the one I have today. But, this anniversary wasn’t as challenging as the first one. Thanks, of course, to Hudson. His exuberant puppy energy has kept me fully occupied with the present as I learn to keep up with him. It’s been well over a decade since I was lucky enough to be consumed by puppiness. The learning curve has been gentle overall, thanks to my experience with Kallie.

Since bringing him home in late November, we started venturing out on short walks in the neighborhood where I loved walking with Kallie. In fact, when there is snow on the ground, I’m always a little surprised he doesn’t “stop, drop, and squirm” like she did. (Don’t think for a second I’d be upset if he did.)

But on a walk early one morning before dawn with Hudson recently, it hit me like a puppy charging and jumping on me: how much I loved—and missed—walking with a dog in the quiet morning air. While he explored and darted from one target to the next, I observed his experience while having one of my own. There is a quiet zen about these walks that I haven’t fully been able to capture while taking them on my own.

It’s a delicate recipe: going on a walk with a dog whose exploration, excitement, and curiosity pulls me just far enough outside myself to leave my digital social media existence, sometimes forgetting my phone altogether. Then, the magic comes when I’m suspended there for the duration of our walk–experiencing the world through his eyes helps me see things differently if even only for a brief moment. It’s a special feeling I’d forgotten about—one I’m grateful for. And I plan to bathe in it—no matter the weather. (I was ‘raised’ by a snowbeast, after all.)

As we get back into the routine of multiple walks, I look forward to them as much as he does. The freedom of “walking zen” fills my head with all kinds of ideas that I speak into my watch to be reminded of later. And if my thoughts drift to something dire–like the darkness and divisiveness that are looming–Hudson’s exuberance and need to experience everything he can pull me back into the calm, focused on him and only him.

My journal has filled up faster since Hudson came into my life. Sure, there are lots of pieces about him, but so many others, thanks to the perspective that wagging tail gives in earnest. In fact, I’m pretty sure that tail put a spell on me! ✨🐕