It’s a New Year and we got a dog!
This year really started off with a bang. I don’t know about you, but New Year’s always seems to spark this light in me. It’s like a new chance for new beginnings. But I’m not going to lie, these last few years I have not had it in me to stay up to midnight. More like 8:00 pm, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
We got a dog! I honestly was not even thinking about adopting. We lost Eco more than a year ago, and I was enjoying a life of no responsibilities (outside of work). At least I thought I was.
Then one day, we started to talk about the possibilities. I checked the West Suburban Humane Society’s Website, and there she was. A almost 4-month old Australian Cattle Dog Mix. I knew this was our dog just by the pictures. She had focus and determination in one photo and in the next she had the sweetest most submissive look in her eyes, and that was the icing on the cake.
We met her, we adopted her on the spot, and then we had to wait two weeks (because of the holidays) for her to get spayed. That two weeks felt like the longest two weeks, and at the same time it went by really fast. Within a few days (of not having her yet), we had already picked out the name Kai.
Names are so important for dogs, and we like to keep it simple. In Hawaiian, Kai means “Ocean.” In Japanese its “Shell” (or Ocean), and in Greek its “Fire” or “Fireball.” After having her here for 7 days now, I can see that she embodies all of these things.
Creatively this has changed so much for me. I didn’t realize HOW much I need a dog in my life. She is a literal angel, because from my perspective all I see around us is 11. I have started to document her, and she has made enormous changes everyday growing both physically and mentally - as I see her confidence grow. It’s exciting!
The practice of documenting her has re-ignited that creative muscle in my brain to want to create. Things feel easier again even though in some ways my life has become more challenging.
The best way to get through life is to go against the grain, because the grass is always greener on the other side.
I’ll have to share more about raising Kai with you in the future. That in itself is a book. But for now I am savoring the moment. Even when she steals my ferns while I’m making cyanotypes. I love her curiousity to the moon and back!
