Bunny Palooza. Water. Musical Cots.

Wow! Another edition! Blue and I have a lot to cover for this week. Here we go…

A circular conversation.

We have a fenced backyard, no garden, and a “predatory” goldendoodle. I am so curious as to why our yard has been selected for the nightly Bunny Palooza.

I love symbolism, so I looked up the spiritual meaning of bunnies. This is a compilation and just some of what Google AI offered:

“good luck, new beginnings, gentleness, sensitivity, vulnerability, adaptability…”

All amazing things which I really appreciate.

What I don’t appreciate is the bunny poo. Omgee…those little, cute, furry bunnies are awfully messy. Every morning we do a sweep of the backyard to clean up as much as we can. Then, we let Blue out and it takes him about half of a second to find more!

Fortunately for us Blue is very highly trained with the “leave it” command…

Unfortunately for us…Blue also suffers from a medical condition called “selective hearing”...

Our circular and one sided conversation:

“Blue…leave it. Please do not eat the bunny poo.”

—Same words repeated approximately 8000 times in the last few weeks.

So, we are planning to take a trip to the Home Depot to find a few plastic owls to strategically place around the backyard. We might even put up signs to direct the bunnies to either the front yard or our neighbors’ yards where they can resume their nightly festivities. We will plan to keep you posted on how this situation evolves…

Water.

I want to write just a bit about my dad (and one of Blue’s grandpas). Such a loving and gentle soul. He loved his family, cars, motorcycles, playing pool, heavyweight boxing, martial arts and so much more. He had a beautiful heart.

April 24th marked another anniversary of the day dad was riding his motorcycle when someone pulled out in front of him. There was nothing he could do…and he was taken out of this world way too soon. I was twelve.

As you know, a loss leaves a mark. At any age. And, no matter how much time passes.

None of us go through life without experiencing some type of trauma. Multiple traumas.

I was talking to my grandpa a few months ago… and he was sharing that he and my grandma had a lot of “whys” that they never got the answers to. To name a few, they lost three sons…all too young, and two of them were lost in motorcycle accidents.

Grandpa said…“the only thing you can do is to keep going”. I admire grandpa so much for so many reasons. And, he has such wisdom.

As the years have passed, April 24th has become a day of quiet remembering for me. A deep remembering.

So, just like most years, the 24th came and went.

And, on the 25th…I had an opportunity to meet with my dear friend and very first yoga teacher, Miss Friday.

Years ago and before Miss Friday even opened her yoga studio, she used to teach classes on the second floor of an older accounting building. I was new to yoga and there were windows around the perimeter of the space. At times, placing my mat next to a window was my only option due to my later than ideal arrival times. A problem to this day…

I used to pray that I wouldn’t fall out of a pose and crash into a window…I didn’t get brave enough to even attempt headstands until years later…so fortunately I never broke any. That would have been even more embarrassing than the times I came crashing to the floor.

I have cherished memories of time spent with Miss Friday. Lots of philosophical contemplations and conversations. And lots of times practicing on the mat to her gentle, kind and wise voice.

So on the 25th, as part of Miss Friday’s book club I recently joined, she was hosting a Sharing Circle.

During that time, she read some wisdom from Bruce Lee. I know right?!?! What a bad ass yoga teacher to bring in Bruce Lee to her teachings!

—Well, as soon as I heard her say “Bruce Lee”…I immediately thought of dad. I remembered the Bruce Lee/martial arts books in his collection and the Bruce Lee movies. And, I remembered watching dad at Tae Kwon Do classes and tournaments.

I can’t recall the exact quotes that Miss Friday offered…but here are a few that recap the general sentiments of her teaching that day…

“Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.” - Bruce Lee

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it…” - Bruce Lee

"A river cuts through rock, not because of power, but because of its persistence." - Jim Watkins

And, Miss Friday posed the question…

“What would it be like if your practice was persistent yielding versus pushing back?”

—Yikes for a control freak…huh?

We did some meditation and some journaling…and at the end we had a chance to share what we experienced.

–I was so excited to share that I believed it absolutely Divine that Miss Friday would bring Bruce Lee into our Sharing Circle…

–I was so excited to share the connection between my dad and his admiration for Bruce Lee…

-I wanted to share that the day prior had been another anniversary marking dad’s accident…

-And, I wanted to share that I quietly remember in a way that feels very personal…but that after this Divine intervention I feel such overwhelming connection and gratitude.

But as I started to speak, I was a little swept up in emotion. And, my share was quite different than I intended.

As I started to speak, my smile and excitement were a bit overtaken by a strong, visceral tightening in my throat, chest and tummy.

I had to pause multiple times to collect myself enough to get a few more words out.

—I will neither confirm nor deny a bit of an ugly cry…ugh!

I was ultimately able to say all that I wanted…but with a whole different vibe than I anticipated.

I was not yielding…I was pushing back…And, I continued to push back.

Miss Friday was brilliant as she sat with me and held space for me. Honoring the moment and what was coming up.

The next day Blue and I were on our way to school. I was still feeling a little weepy…just sort of processing and digesting how big I felt the experience was.

—That I had this very special moment to connect with Miss Friday, and that she had brought Bruce Lee into our class. That I felt connected.

—I was in awe of the incredible gifts…

Blue and I arrived at class, and we started with our usual warm ups…the heeling circle, sits, downs, and waits.

For the first few minutes of every class, I’m pretty sure anyone who doesn’t know us would believe we have never ever been to class before or walked on a leash…

—One of us struggling with selective hearing….

—One of us sniffing every inch of the floor

—One of us relentlessly attempting to say hello to every other dog in class…

Then a few minutes in, Blue and I lock eyes…and together we say “let’s do this”!

Our young, sassy professor starts putting place clots all around the room. Equal in number to the number of dogs.

Musical cots.

I’m not even kidding. How awesome is this? Elementary school here we come!

The cots are spaced out around the edge of the room.

We walk in a circle, but we have to bring the circle in and tighten it so we are further away from the cots and can’t cheat. When the music stops…we are supposed to stay where we are and send our dogs to a place cot. They have to be sitting. The last one to sit…you and your dog are out.

We start with a practice round…and our prof. takes a song request.

—Sid’s mom suggests a song by Queen.

—This is freaking awesome! And it’s right on… we are Under Pressure!

The first official round…we are walking and the music stops. I send Blue to “place”. He goes right away. I ask him to “sit”.

—But….ohhhhhh so many smells on this cot. So many dogs have sat before him.

—I don’t repeat my request. I just stand there like I’ve got Blue enrolled in Montessori school where he is self-directing his learning. (I love this philosophy by the way.)

So after he gets all of his sniffs in…he casually sits and looks at me. I turn around…and our cute little instructor is smiling at me and says “you’re out”. First game of musical cots. First round and we are out.

So, we are now relegated to the middle of the circle. Here, Blue should remain in a sit for the rest of the game.

—I couldn’t help but laugh to myself that we are the first ones out. I am so competitive. So, hey if we can’t win…might as well be the first to be eliminated!

What was absolutely amazing about being eliminated first was that Blue and I had the best time together in the middle of the circle. I had the treats…so his eyes were on me. (I’m fine with bribes.) We danced, hung out together, and enjoyed the songs. And, we welcomed the new losers to our circle as the rounds continued.

This little game and time with Blue brought me right to the present moment. I yielded. The heaviness lifted, and I could expand my chest again.

We continued on with musical cots the rest of the class. There was time for multiple games, so Blue and I were able to get back in and make it further than the first round.

—Our professor made it progressively harder throwing in more and more tasks that our dogs had to accomplish….

—And we had more time to listen to some fun songs…Billie Jean, Beat It…

What a great class!

Blue wants to give a shout out to a few of his friends:

—Sid, the statuesque Boerboel. He did great in the game. Until he was over the entire situation and wanted to come into the circle and rest.

—Dak, the always well behaved Chocolate Lab. Dak came in as a very close second to winning the entire series!

—River, the beautiful German Shepherd. He is a young fella, and is doing so well listening to his mom!

—All of the dogs are awesome! So many more we could name!

I am so grateful. A beautiful class. Beautiful time with Blue. Blue reminding me again how to live in the moment.

Thank you for following along and until we write again,

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