Waffles and I connected through running. I always loved Waffles. He was always my charming little scamp but there were times when he had…excess energy. This abundance of vivacity was never more apparent than during the beginning of COVID when the whole household was together. All. The. Time. He would chew the kids’ school materials, zoom back and forth across the room, and just brought a certain level of mayhem to an already new and chaotic situation.
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do, I’m going to start running with Waffies. First thing tomorrow at Dawn ‘O Clock.” I told Mez. He looked at me… probably supportively but I had said this type of thing before, “that sounds like a good idea, I think it would be nice to get some time to yourself, especially since we are all together so much right now. It might also help Waffles be less…exuberant.”
I said, “then it’s decided. I am a runner and Waffles is my running dog.”
Our first run was laughable. The dog did great, but I have never been much of a runner and hadn’t even made any attempts at running in over two years. I was always the person who liked the idea of running. I thought it always seemed like it would be meditative, peaceful…and give me some good leg muscles; however, I always quit. I would go three times one week and then stop for the next two months (or longer…). I was never consistent…until Waffles became my partner. There was just something about running with that dog. He was the ultimate coach and cheerleader. He didn’t worry about pace. He didn’t worry about distance. He didn’t care about beating his personal best. He cared about being with me, enjoying the moment, and just moving forward.
I will always be happy that the last thing Waffles and I did together was go for a run. It was how we truly came together as a team. It was our thing. The link between our hearts. Also, yes, it also helped to calm Waffles down so he stopped eating all of our stuff. I know that Waffles would be so surprised that I didn’t keep running after he was gone. It just felt so wrong. So empty. It made him being gone too real.
Now there is another dog in my house and I know that Waffles is over the rainbow bridge still acting as my coach, champion and cheerleader and he is saying, “Come on Ricochet! Get that girl off of the couch. It’s time for a run!”
The Heralding Hound 