I spent my late 20's walking the park every single day with Saturdays mostly home and then I would try to get my husband out in the park with me on Sundays.
Back then my husband was very skeptical of nature, he hated the unpredictability of wild life and of course the huge amount of bugs.
Where as I love it all fully and completely never thinking the bugs were out to get me, nor that I couldn't handle a wild creature if taken by surprise.
I grew up watching hundreds of Nature episodes, I lived on a farm from when I was 10 years old and my early memories of being a toddler were in the country side during August's peach harvest that my little hand would hold a huge juicy peach dripping from my mouth while bees and bugs landed on me. I think about having been startled by nature that young in life makes me not notice the dangers of the wild now. I am glad that I am aware and have learned so much from documentaries and wonderful shows like "Outdoor Idaho." that gives us so much information about the world around us!
Life in the park is the best place to be!
I trained my puppy Oscar there everyday from when he came into my life, I had just turned 27 years old. He and I went to the parks every morning and every evening, with the occasional stop at the dog park by noon. After he had walked with me, trained with me and just sat by the ponds with me then if I had more time in our day we would play with other dogs at the fenced in dog park. It was by the afternoon getting home that Oscar was ready for a deep long nap, then as evening arrived I would leash him up to go back out into the world to pick up my husband from work and to play at the park right next to his office. Oscar had such a very activity youthful life with me always by his side. I created such a great home, a great environment for our rescued kitty and hardworking hubby.
I found my peace of mind, my therapy in being at the park.
When Minnie our cockier spaniel came into our family walking the park every morning was much harder as she wasn't leashed trained at all. Oscar and Sidda walked side by side and they stopped when I stopped, they sat when I sat and I could always drink my morning coffee while they enjoyed the trees and bushes along the pathway every day. Then in pure chaos, in crazy hard to handle ways Minnie would trip me as we walked, she would circle us all and she would pull, jerking and trying to chase the ducks in the once peaceful pond we loved to relax. Oscar was beside himself with trying to control her and slowly I began to change our routine. The days of learning how to run through the park with 3 dogs became more like a job not a leisure thinking time.
I sat on the bench this week of that beloved park remembering all of my adventures there.
Life in the park was good for the dogs, getting the 3 of them to run all together with me every morning for the first year they all lived together was important to wearing them down and accepting each other safely. After they grew older I began to give them their own walk, their own day. I did Mondays with Minnie, This meant I worked on the leash with her, walked that same park over and over again until she refused to walk anymore and then I always had to carry her back to the car. I got good at being closer to the car by the time she was done walking with me. When she laid down and refused to move I would know her 40 pounds was given me strong muscles after all as I would carry her and snuggle her face saying she is my most stubborn child ever!
Then Tuesdays were Oscar's day, he needed lots of attention for his own peace of mind. He loved the park, the all afternoon time we spent throwing his frizbee and watching the world move by the pond. He loved the shade, the fresh air and all the attention he got in doing his training skills with no Minnie to act up, no Sidda to protect, I think Oscar loved his all day Tuesdays with me!
I had a bible study on Wednesday with my elderly neighbor Bernice who loved Sidda so we would have Sidda's personal time on that day among us. I look back at how it all worked my Thursdays or Tuesdays were rotated around for when I went out to care for my mother too. Every Friday was of me cleaning the house deeply and cooking up meals, while all 3 dogs were napping after tier own personal attention from me.
Taking time through out each day to get to the park was how I stayed grounded and calm even when I felt like my life becoming way to busy for my liking.
Without nature, without that time in walking through such beautiful surroundings as I lived through my 30's I would of felt like I was going crazy!
Instead each time I sat breathing in the smell of the ever green trees, or the wild daisies as the ducks and geese communicated across the wide open cat tail ponds with turtles and fish I watched on in awe that my life, my responsibilities, and my concerns in my daily schedule were rather silly when the sun shine makes everything grow so magnificently!
When I was working all the time in my late 20's I would use my only day off to walk the park. To think deeply about my childhood traumas and monumental events. I would find a new way to handle them, to feel the same emotional reactions while realizing as I look back that I have more information to draw from and figure them out better so that they don't haunt me or taunt me into feeling the wave of negativity that I try so hard to conquer.
The park saved me from so much more then feeling like my life was passing me by way to fast!
The park gave me love and laughter with my dogs and my husband.
The park gave me closure and results in dealing with my childhood memories and my past.
The park saved me from being stuck in a moment that I couldn't get out of!
My life in the park was the very best place for me to ever be!
I cried a bit, sitting now at the age of 40 on the same bench watching the same water fountain moving down on to the ducks (I doubt the ducks are the same ha!) this same ol' park is here even though I have moved away.....
These same delighted memories makes me see how my hair has gray stripes along my ears and I smile, I wipe my tears and say "Thank you Dear Park for being my best friend through some of the hardest days of my life."
.........and yet they were some of the easiest days too!
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