This weekend was a good reminder that there are things you think are part of your life forever but giving them up doesn't necessarily make you unhappy.

Since the early 90s I've been a dog owner and a paddler. Both states require a lot of committment and sacrifice that you don't notice at the time because the payback is so high. My last dog died over a year ago at 17 and I have to say, I'm not missing the company as much as I thought I would. That's probably because I'm also not missing the pet hair everywhere, mud tracked through the house, missing out on every after-work gettogether because I have to rush home to walk and feed the dog, not to mention trying to find dog-sitters for when I travelled. And as much as I love racing, taking this year off was the best decision I've made in a long time. I still paddle twice a day but on my own schedule. And instead of sitting at a regatta course every weekend of the summer, I'm getting together with family and friends to do something fun!



After paddling yesterday morning, Chrissy and I headed over to Jackie's. As soon as Sydney woke up from her nap we took her on a tour of Woofstock...yes, a street festival totally dedicated to dogs. I think we saw every possible breed of dog. And dogs that clearly weren't um, considered dogs. There were dogs in strollers, dogs in tutus and leather jackets, dogs being carried in specially-designed handbags and doggy-bjorns.


I'm not going to lie, we were really just there for the gelato. As much as I'm not interested in getting another dog, each time I saw a particular breed I ran through the pros/cons of each (out loud, unfortunately for the girls) and was thinking, "Would I get one of those for my next dog?" I guess that means there's one down the road somewhere just as I'll probably be sitting at a regatta course someday soon getting sunburnt, rained on and loving it! For the time being though, this is working for me!