The best dog she could be

I first met this crazy pointer mix in September 2000, just as my second year of law school started. Big Boy was 11, little boy was 8 and I was 32. A neighbor down the street was walking her in the park and came up to me asking if I knew anyone who wanted a dog. The neighbor gave me a sob story about something or other, but after jumping up on me, this goofy puppy rolled on her back and demanded that I rub her belly. She was clumsy, her feet were too big for her, her eyes were mismatched and she had the softest ears I'd ever felt on a dog. I never knew exactly how old she was, but assumed due to her disposition that her birthday had been on Leap Day of that year, so that's when we always celebrated it.

Ours was her third home; the one that finally stuck. She'd been Sadie and Hazel before I named her Schuyler Blue. A bit pretentious, perhaps, but she had plenty of nicknames (Sky, Blue, Boo, Crazy Dog, Skyber the Cyber Dog, DamnitSky!). My law school buddy J had adopted a German Shepherd about the same time and convinced me to take her to the dog park. The first time I let Sky off leash she ran the fence line at top speed nonstop for 45 minutes. The dog park was Sky's favorite place until another dog attacked her when she was about 18 months old. After that, all dogs were enemies and Sky officially became an "only dog." She went after other dogs if the opportunity presented itself. She always pulled while on leash, even with a choke chain or a gentle leader. She also never managed to learn that jumping up on people isn't a good idea. She hated men as a puppy and would bark crazily at them, until eventually the boys grew up and became men and showed her that men are decent people, too. She loved food and once ate about 5 lbs of dog food from a bag (that the cat had helpfully opened) with disasterous results. Sky was nothing if not enthusiastic.

Although that dog sure could run, it took five years for the idea to catch on with me. I made her start out as slowly as I did, although she was in much better shape. She loved, loved, loved to run with me. She could recognize my running gear and would leap around in a circle when she saw me dressed to run, impatient to get going. Although she usually only weighed about 55 pounds, she pulled me over countless times. I still have scars on both knees from a couple of this past autumn's Sky-induced falls. I can't count how many miles she ran with me, but most of my runs while training for marathons in 2007 and 2008 have a "w/Sky" notation in the log. Although they say that the dog reflects the owner's personality, I think she was always more high-strung than me. Running, however, calmed us both down. Sky got the hang of more commands because of running. She finally learned not to run into the street and would stop and sit when I said, "Halt!" After seven or eight miles, she would stop running out ahead and could heel. She adopted an almost business-like attitude when running; there were even times when she could ignore other dogs. She knew one of her jobs was to protect me and although she loved people (a little too much, sometimes) she once scared the crap out of some semi-creepy dude who was just standing along the side of the Gateway Trail. She must have thought he was up to no good, because she barked and barked and lunged at him. Once she turned 8, I wouldn't let her run more than 8 miles with me, but she would have tried.

I finally got Sky the fenced yard she always needed this past summer. After a winter and spring of my being injured, we ran together more in our new neighborhood. She started losing weight, which I first attributed to more exercise. By October, though, she looked too skinny. The vet said it was probably cancer. Our last run together was a 3 miler the week before Thanksgiving. She got to eat whatever she wanted and lounged a lot on the couch this winter. She lost more weight that we thought was possible. This morning her back legs were not working quite right and she wouldn't eat breakfast.

I said goodbye to my crazy pointer mix this afternoon. Big Boy is 20, little boy is 17 and I am 42. Sky was 10. She was always the best dog she could be.

And water freezes

The fountain store still has its outdoor fountain going. It's pretty frozen, but the warm weather we've been having, there's a hole in the iced-over flow.

K, Big Boy and I had a great time yesterday at the Seeley Hills Classic in Wisconsin. We had dinner with K's college ski coach and his friend (New Glarus Spotted Cow rocks, that is all) and then hung out at the hotel for a bit until crashing into our hard, shelf-like beds about 8:30.

Big Boy saw C, one of his Arctic long trip buddies, and I ran into M and S, parents of another Menogyn alumnus. M and S were doing the long ski (42k) and asked if I was, too. Heh. Thirteen miles is plenty of skiing for me!!

It was really warm, about 27 at the start, and it was 35 by the time I finished. Despite that, the trail was gorgeous, the sky was blue and beautiful and the skiing was great. I crashed dramatically only three times (and am feeling it today) on the three biggest hills... There were a couple of minor falls, too. Nothing broken, which was one of my goals for the race (1. Don't break anything. 2. Don't come in last.).

As I was skiing along at the back of the pack (most fun section of a ski race, too), I was thinking how completely outrageous it was that I'd skied this course last year. Even now, theoretically a slightly better skier than last year, it was probably too hard for me. That said, I got a great PR... Last year I finished in 2:49 (yes, it took me almost three hours, I ski way slower than I run!). This year I finished in 2:16. I'm still a particularly mediocre skier (the winner finished in just under an hour), but it was totally fun (when it wasn't terrifying) and I can't wait to do it again next year!
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Oh well...

It was worth a try. My dog hates other dogs. She is an only dog and hasn't tolerated another canine since she was attacked at the dog park when she was 18 months old. This is TODL's dog, over for a visit. Sky is in her kennel. They managed a walk together this morning, but the "how about we hang out in the kitchen together" idea didn't go so well. Good thing Sky was wearing a muzzle.

For the record, TODL and I get along much better than our dogs do.
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С новым годом!

Alternatively entitled - The Deep Freeze.

TODL and I were wandering Uptown on New Year's Eve and happened upon this establishment. She said it exemplified Minnesota for her - a tai chi sign covered in icicles. It was actually warm that day, it turns out. Driving little boy to school this morning it was -12. At noon, the temperature had climbed only to -3. I think I'll be running on the treadmill at some point... it's a relatively balmy 22 in my garage.

2009 was a very eventful year. I started it off with my fourth round of vertigo. Coworker K and I skied quite a bit and she cajoled me into my first ski race (in which I was not DFL). little boy and I went to Chicago over spring break and checked out some college campuses. Northwestern was axed from the list (no men's cross country!) and the University of Chicago jumped right to the top of the list. We caught a movie, walked our feet off, had a snowstorm, went to some museums and generally had a great time. On our way back north, we toured the UW-Madison campus in a downpour. Although there was a little drama about getting everything absolutely finished, little boy got all of his college applications completed and submitted ten days before the deadline. He got his first acceptance on the 31st - University of Minnesota. little boy had an excellent cross country season... new PRs, went to the State Meet, ran at the Nike Regionals race in South Dakota. Now it's ski season and he's captain of the team. Lots of cold so far, but we could use more snow!

I had a little vacation at the beginning of February and flew out to LA to pick up Big Boy from his AmeriCorps gig. The two of us took the train back to Minnesota by way of Seattle and we spent a couple of days there and got to see K's sister E (who is a very gracious tour guide!). Big Boy landed a job with the Army in Washington and headed out west in May. He set a lot of things on fire (it's ok, he's a firefighter) and cut down quite a few trees (also ok, he's a sawyer). He came back for a visit in August, just after his 20th birthday. That job ended in October and he headed back home. Lots of firefighter applications have been sent out and he's had two interviews. We are keeping our fingers crossed for next fire season's employment prospects. In the meantime, he's an assistant coach for little boy's ski team, which keeps him out of trouble every afternoon.

Although I gave running a shot at the end of February after having taken all of January off, my left foot (cuboid bone) continued to hurt. I tried again in March after taking a few more weeks off, but it still hurt. In April, despite it being a really stupid idea, I ran the Trail Mix 50k relay with two of my buddies and little boy. Although I could barely walk for a week afterward, it didn't detract from the fun of that race. I tried to be more consistent in May, but I think I just about gave up in June when I ran just a single time. I figured either I would quit running or would have to resign myself to living with pain. Luckily for me, I discovered my inner hippie and started barefoot running in July. Within six weeks, I was able to run 10 miles at a stretch without pain during or after!! I try not to wax too enthusiastic about my love of running hippie style, but when you consider that I pretty much could not (and did not) run for eight months and this cured my foot...

There were many changes in 2009. After a couple of years of seeing the writing on the wall, my relationship officially ended. There wasn't any crying or [too many] recriminations, just some regret about things not working out and a little trepidation about setting out on my own. I spent some time house hunting and in April made an offer on a fabulous house in a great neighborhood (South Minneapolis! Yay!). The housing downturn worked in my favor, since I'd sold my previous house in 2004 (height of the market) and saved up cash in the meantime. Great price, great 30 year fixed rate mortgage (less than what Big Boy paid on his student loans!), likely at or near the bottom of the market... We moved in June 14th after I had the floors refinished. June was also the month that I was formally offered (and accepted) a new position at work. I just completed my six month probation period (in addition to celebrating three years working for the State), so now they have to keep me. The union says so. I ended the year 20 pounds lighter and able to do 140 push ups (in sets of 25, I'm no machine!). My dog, Sky, was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, and although we didn't think she'd last until Thanksgiving, she's still with us, stubborn as ever. She's still happy, bounding after squirrels in the yard and scrounging for food at every opportunity. She loves that she gets to nap on the couch with us. The time is coming soon, but it isn't today.

In August, I met someone by accident. Well, accidentally on purpose. I wasn't looking to date, but our friends conspired to get us together. Funny, there's only about one degree of separation between TODL and me, and we've managed to just miss meeting each other at least a dozen times over the past ten years. I could go on about all the ways in which she's totally awesome, but I'll endeavor not to embarrass either of us. I'm really happy. And very lucky. And supremely grateful.

Here's to 2010.