For dog lovers only

Lying under my toasty down comfortor, chatting with my husband on Saturday morning, we decided to take the dog down to the beach for some excercise. It sounds lovely, a nice leisurely stroll on the beach, wind blowing in my hair, holding hands with my hubby and the dog running near by.

We get dressed and send the dog into orbit by telling him we're going. My husband puts the dog in the truck and comes back into the house offering to loan me a hat because it's raining. RAINING! It can't be raining. Remember when I said I was snuggled up under my down comforter? It's about 40 degrees outside and, while I enjoy a nice walk in the rain, 40 degrees is not my idea of a great time to walk in the rain. However, we told the dog we were going and, quite frankly, he will make us crazy if we don't.

Do we go to the beach and get cold and wet, or do we live with a very annoyed and highly energetic dog?

I guess we can always come home to a hot shower and a cup of tea. It's off to the beach for us.

Luck was with us, we were rewarded for our brave decision, and the rain stopped by the time we drove to our favorite section of dog beach. It was a great time to walk. The wind was up, the waves were rolling in and the sky was layered in amazing clouds in a million shades of gray. We had a marvelous time walking, and of course hauling around the full plastic bag which seems to accompany any good outing with a dog.

The waves caught me off guard. As I walked just above the high water mark, an overly exhuberant wave stretched a few extra feet and soaked my hiking shoes. We laughed and went on, and I moved higher up the beach even as I kept a wary eye on the playing waves. I'm glad I kept an eye on the waves because I got some more good laughs the next 3 times my husband got soaked. Even the dog (he only saw his first wave a month ago when we moved near Lake Michigan and he still approached the water infrequently and with great suspicion) got his feet wet once with a rogue wave that hopped an extra 5 feet up the beach as we ended our walk.

When we reached the end of our walk we were still enjoying the time outdoors and sat down on a short break wall to watch the water and feel the breeze a little longer. I was happy because it was a beautiful day and not only could I enjoy it a little while longer, I got to do it without holding a plastic doggie bag as I could just set it in the sand. As we sat there, watching, we should have known better. We were just watching, a few feet beyond the high water mark when another rogue wave soaked us from mid thign down. We were laughing at the moment, right up until we saw a little plastic bag floating in the water. My husband looked at me and said, "I suppose you expect me to go get that?" Before I nodded my head a few thoughts flitted through my mind. First, is it environmentally friendly to let a biodegradable plastic bag of dog poop float around in the lake? Then I envisioned some little kid finding it as he played at the beach. Not good. So I nodded yes and grinned as my knight in shining armor saved me from yet another foot soaking as he raced into the edges of the lake, racing the waves to retrieve a plastic bag of dog poop.

Some choices change our lives and others just give us stories that amuse other people.