Our home finally went on the market last Friday and consequently we had two showings on Saturday afternoon to prepare for. After scrambling all day Friday to be prepared and then doing more touch-up on Saturday morning, my family was exhausted and wondered what we could do for a whole afternoon with the dogs and ourselves. As fortune would have it, it was a glorious day here in Woodinville, so we decided to pick up a lunch and head to Marymoor Park. My son cautioned us that Marymoor was crazy busy on nice days, but he took one car and we took the other and off we set for 6 hours away from the house.
After a lovely picnic in the park, we decided to try the off-leash park and at least let our large dog Fritz have a romp. As I reflect on that afternoon, the trepidation we had of spending an afternoon entertaining the dogs, ended up as pure joy. Yes the park was busy. Yes there were lots of dogs and people. But everyone was smiling, every dog was in heaven-sniffing, running, splashing in the water, meeting new friends. There was sunshine, laughter, blue herons nesting. I spent lots of time walking, but finally sat on a bench with my little dog, Max, to soak up the sun and just watch.
It’s a funny thing, time. When we were rushing around trying to get the house ready, it didn’t seem like there would be enough time to do everything we needed to do. As I sat at the dog park, time stood still for a while. Six hours didn’t seem long, but it didn’t seem short either. My dogs had water, sunshine, treats. I had water, sunshine, treats. There was nothing to do but be caught up in the activity around me and be present to the sights and sounds of people and their best buddies. Each moment was special because each moment was new and experienced. I wasn’t in my head about what needed to be done or when I needed to be somewhere else. I knew I had time to spend in this place at this moment in time, and it was freeing.
As time slowed, as I focused only on the moment, I noticed I was at peace and relaxed for the first time in a while. I am still recounting the joy that I experienced that afternoon. It was unexpected, born out of necessity and much needed. I think I need to slow down time more often!