On the road to a class in Topeka about 24 miles to the west. I was just getting ready to turn onto K-10 and make my way to the turnpike when the radio buzzed annoyingly with a weather alert. There was a tornado warning for Topeka. A twister had been sighted just southwest of town and was moving northeast. So much for class.

I love watching big storms move in. Can’t say I like having to hunker down in the basement when they’re on top of me and the sirens are blowing but they are beautiful. Definitely makes you feel small and puts things in perspective. In the big picture our problems are very small and while they may make us run and take shelter on occasion, they will pass.

Running tonight after work I was surprised at how strong the inertia was. For the first several blocks I just wanted to stop but a few minutes later it was as though a switch had been flipped and I felt much better. It turned out to be one of the better runs I’ve had since the weather warmed up. Despite my wandering mind I found some amount of ‘flow’. The air was cooler, there was less humidity and my mind and body relaxed into the pace of my feet falling, my arms swinging and my breathing.

I came across this great little article on forgiveness -

How to forgive.

Read an earlier post on forgiveness

Yesterday we had to put our 17 year old cat Morticia to sleep. She had kidney problems for a while now and it finally was just too much for her.

She was a really unique cat. Where other cats would run and hide when friends came over, Morticia never knew a stranger. She assumed everyone loved cats and would always rub up against them. If held, she would actually put her front paws on either side of their neck as though she was hugging them.

The vet was very sympathetic and gentle. She passed peacefully while we held her and stroked her head.

When I got home tonight Cosmo was in her dog bed (leather couch with a blanket and several pillows) fast asleep. She must sleep about 20 hours a day (literally). I should probably hire a nurse to periodically turn and massage her to prevent bed sores. It was 5 o’clock which is the magic hour to our dogs - feeding time. As soon as she heard me she was up with her perky ears and bright eyes look, looking at me with a “It would be soooooo sweet if you would get in the kitchen and rattle my dish with some kibble.” Every day I’m glad they aren’t fed in the morning as they all go nuts with whining and barking. I fed them, let ‘em out and put my running shorts and shoes on.

Finally got word that the tombstone we bought for our mom and dad’s plot was engraved and has been installed at the grave site.

We were all going to take dad up to see it but decided that maybe it would be better to make the 2 hour drive on a non-holiday. That way we could all enjoy the day off.

Still am amazed that a hand-carved angel tombstone that probably weighs 300+ pounds ended up in a small Kansas farm town. I wonder what the Chinese sculptor thought about releasing the angel from the stone. Did they think about the person it was for or was it just another job?

When I was running tonight my mind, as usual, was bouncing all around. Somewhere in the flotsam and jetsam of thoughts my dog Marley came to mind. He’s the exact opposite of my other black dog.

We named him Marley because he’s a Rasta dog. Cool and easy going. He’s a very old black dog. He will turn 17 this July. I’ve never had a dog this old. For the last three years it was in the back of my mind that this will be his last Thanksgiving, Christmas, Winter, Spring, etc. but it never was. We should have named him Timex.

Last night I picked up my dad and brought him home for dinner. I used to cringe every time I’d walk dad through my garage and into my house as the garage has many of the tools that used to be his. It’s pretty common for children to have enormous guilt over placing their parents in a nursing home especially when they’re still cognizant enough to know they’re loosing so much and can’t do anything to stop it. It doesn’t matter that it’s the right thing to do. It just hurts and you have to keep repeating the mantra “I love them and it’s for their own good.”

In case you missed last Wednesday’s airing of the PBS documentary Depression, Out of the Shadows, you can watch it online at http://www.pbs.org/

Their website has a lot of information about depression as well as links to other sites that are valuable resources for those walking their own black dog of depression, or those that just want to understand it better.

A key part of the TLC program is ‘Flow’ activities. Those things we do that we enjoy and become absorbed in - lost in - to the point where we loose track of time. In a sense they are timeless activities. It can be anything from work to play, sports, music, art, games, reading, meditation, etc. Just about anything.

I’ve been meaning to write about getting into ‘flow’ activities when I came across this very well-written article. I don’t know that I could explain it any better.

Finding Flow

Here’s another good resource for articles on depression