Got called "Kiddo" this morning!

Good humid morning!
Three musings (including a smile) this morning...

I've been walking in the mornings. Today as has been happening more often, my Fitbit wasn't working so I set out without my tracker. It's disappointing when I get my weekly stats and I know I've gone for that walk but it doesn't show up. I guess I'll have to break down and buy a new one!

My walks are my true down time. Sometimes I find myself counting randomly, so odd. Other times, I'm thinking about the dogs that bark as I walk past or the joy the squirrels seem to be having.

The dogs always make me think of years ago when there was a primary reader called "The Dog Next Door". At the time, I had a very aggressive dog living next door (different home) and it was often chained in the yard and barking. My life challenges were much different then and in a talk I gave at the time, I compared the dog next door to my faith and the Gospel. At the time, I didn't have a church home and found that the constant barking made me think of the fact that even when we aren't worshiping with others, the Spirit offers us daily reminders (barks at us) of our meaning and the strength we gain from the Gospel. Sometimes we need that barking to wake us up to our need to give attention to ourselves, to others and to Christ. It's so interesting to hear the barking dogs, from afar and from near their homes, as they speak to me when I enter their zone. Especially at this time of isolation from large gatherings. What a great reminder this has been to me (this analogy problems doesn't make sense to some) since I haven't been to a service since the first week in March! Who would think that a barking dog was a reminder of Christ and the strength we gain from him. Maybe I should be paying more attention to the actual dog or maybe I should keep letting my mind go to spiritual thoughts.

Squirrels are often out and about on my walks. They play with one another, run up trees and poles, stop and pose as if I won't see them. It causes me to think of how squirrels have recently become associated with distractedness or inability to focus. Is this the case or do squirrels have a special capacity to enjoy their surroundings, appreciating the little things. Hmmm...

And finally, I had the funniest thing happen this morning! I stepped out to cross the street and a truck slowed to turn. I realized the driver's window was down so said I was sorry for stepping out as he was turning. He said, "No problem, Kiddo, enjoy your walk." What a great smile this brought!!! Who calls a 60ish year old women with graying hair (no coloring due to COVID), Kiddo. What a precious example of a simple kindness that impacted my day when he was likely just on his way to work and calls everyone Kiddo. :)