Fighting Breast Cancer

I walk my dogs every day, twice a day.  It doesn’t matter if it’s 115 degrees outside or 10 below; there could be a monsoon or a dust storm and I’m out there.  No matter the weather, I take the dogs on a 40 minute walk in the morning, and a 20 minute walk in the evening.  It’s a good thing that I live in Arizona where the weather is very favorable 9 months out of the year. 

The reason that I am such a devoted dog-walker is because of Autumn and the agreement that she and I came to long ago.  I adopted Autumn when I was 21 and living in my first apartment.  Of course, because I didn’t have a yard, I had to walk her constantly throughout the day.  It became tradition that her morning walk was the longest walk of the day, and I would take her for a series of shorter walks in the afternoon and evening. 

When Michael and I bought our first home with a yard, I thought to myself, “At last!  I no longer have to walk Autumn every day!”  We moved into our home in the summertime and our backyard has a pool that is bordered by a patio and rocks.  We have one patch of grass in the backyard that would be a perfect putting green, if either of us knew how to golf. 

Michael wanted to train Autumn to eliminate on the side of the house where the rocks are.  The test of wills between Michael and Autumn began.  The day we moved in, the first moment Autumn squatted to pee on the grass, Michael yelled, “No!” and led her to the side of the house to show her where the deed must be done. 

It didn’t work. 

One “no!” was all it took…she just glared at him and sulked away, never attempting to ”go” in the backyard again. Autumn, to this day, has never used the backyard.  She does no wrong and she never, ever wants to be scolded…but seriously, she does no wrong.  She has never peed or pooped in the house (once housebroken); she’s never run away; she’s never knocked over a trash can; she’s never bitten anyone; you can leave a steak on the table and leave the house for several hours and it will still be there when you get home…you get the point.  So she really gets angry if you scold her.  She even pouts.  I love that dog.

So, I walk my dogs every day, twice a day.  However, I actually really enjoy it; it isn’t a chore.  It forces me to get out of the house and enjoy nature.  It also gives me 40 minutes each morning to do a walking meditation.  I’m starting to meditate about getting rid of my cancer…about being cancer free.  About getting through this horrible mess and coming out strong and healthy and better for having gone through it.  Each morning when I walk my dogs, I picture my body attacking the cancer.  I picture myself in the future fitter than I have ever been and laughing at “what a crazy year 2005 was” and I’m so glad that I’m cancer-free. 

I walk my dogs and enjoy nature and I look forward to the future.

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