Doggy Kisses

As I walked to my car this afternoon after work I was greeted by an adorable pooch in the car next to mine with his paw out the window at the ready to give me a shake. Don't worry all you dog lovers out there...mom and dad were in the car also. Another employee was getting a nice visit from her husband and dog during her break. I proceeded to give the sweet darling several minutes of scratching and loving where he happily proceeded to bathe my face in doggy saliva. I always feel good when dogs and small children instantly like me because it's a great indication that I'm not a serial murderer. I mean...I've also never murdered anybody so that's another good tip off, but just in case anyone was wondering.

When the kibble slather was all over with, I thanked the owners and the pooch and got in my car to go pick up my kids from school. As I drove away I was literally grinning from ear to ear over my doggy kisses from some stranger's four legged friend. I started thinking about how the tiniest, silliest things can change the whole course of your day. I mean, I wasn't having a bad day, but after doggy kisses I felt like someone had given me a million bucks. Well...no one's ever given me a million bucks so I don't ACTUALLY know how that feels but I'm up for a clinical trial if anyone has a cool mil lying around :)

In all seriousness, I just took a minute to reflect on the things that matter in life and the things that make us feel joy. And I remembered to say thanks to the big man upstairs from whom all good and perfect things come... including doggy kisses. In general, I think having a grateful heart in all that we do is truly THE path to contentment. And I know I'm not reinventing any concepts here, but I think it's often said to give thanks to God even in the midst of trials and hardships, remembering how truly blessed we are in so many ways even when things go wrong. But I also think it's SUPER important to remember to thank God when our day is normal and things are perfectly fine. Especially when we have little wonderful treats like doggy kisses on the way to the car. Taking a minute to thank the Lord for that interaction extended the yummy feelings that much longer and made me that much more grateful.

A lot of life is about our focus and perspective. I'm constantly reinforcing to my kids what life is like for so many other children not only in the US, but globally. It is literally unimaginable how most people live as compared to how we live in the United States. Short of dropping my kids off at the Tijuana border, they will never have a true perspective of what it's like and I'm thankful for that. But I try to find constant little ways to remind them and myself how unbelievably, and frankly obnoxiously blessed we are. There's no better way to find contentment. Contentment by no means translates into being unmotivated or not goal oriented, but it definitely means that whatever God's plans are for my life I'm okay with, because most often within those plans, there are always doggy kisses to be grateful for.