On Friday morning, Doug and I took our two dogs, and our daughter’s new puppy, for a walk. That sounds like it’s an average day for most people, but to us—it was extraordinary! We rarely walk our dogs, let alone three, all at once. The truth is, we got into a bad habit. When we only had Sophie, we used to walk her. And then she got big and started to pull us so hard that only my husband could walk her. Ultimately, that was the demise of Sophie’s walks. Esssentially, the same thing happened with Ella. I don’t blame the dogs, just the owners; we failed to stay committed to training them to walk properly.

But necessity is the mother of invention, and Sophie’s “fat” diagnosis made me revisit how I could get her exercise, so I gave the “dog walking” another try. Well, we started off with “dog running” or maybe it was me running and Sophie trotting, but it worked. After a few consistent days, Sophie didn’t really pull anymore. We just walked. It was so nice to walk her around the neighborhood. So Friday we decided to take all 3 dogs and, miraculously, it worked. Doug had to head home early for a meeting halfway through our walk, so he left me with Sophie and Ella (together at least 170 lbs) and we continued for another mile. I have NEVER been able to walk both of them at the same time. It was joyful.

Why am I telling you this? Because we do this ALL THE TIME! We start something, and it gets tough, AND THEN WE QUIT! We don’t revisit it and try again. We say things like, “It’s water under the bridge,” or “That ship has sailed.” And we justify it by saying, “I tried.” I hate that sentence. We shouldn’t let ourselves off the hook with, “I tried.” . What about, “Try harder,” or “Try again.” How long should you try? Maybe the answer to that question is, “Until you succeed!” “I tried,” is an escape route; “Until I succeed,” is a game plan. It’s our choice. Let’s go! We got this.

With Gratitude,

Beth