One Last Walk

Early this morning Serena and I left my parents house to head to Peet’s Coffee. This coffee shop (which was 1 block from my apartment) became an important part of our community. Part of the routine I established with Serena was an early morning walk and an evening walk. During our early morning walk we woul walk up to 1st St., down Spring St., and then loop down Main Street back towards my house. Over the year and half we took this route, Serena made several human friends. All men. Have I mentioned my dog loves men? She loves men so much she “dog smiles,” looks extra cute and stares them down until they pet her and give her attention. So… she made friends with Peter, Marty and Daryl at the Starbucks on Main Street. She had to stop by and see them first. And because my dog is stubborn (even at 6:30 am), she wouldn’t move until we went inside the Starbucks and said hi to the guys. Then we finished at Peet’s coffee on Main Street where I would get my coffee. We made friends with an 80 year old guy named Bob who’d lived in Pleasanton since the 1950’s. He would go to Peet’s every morning and write stories about his life with a spiral bound notebook and mechanical pencil in hand. I’d bring my cup of joe over and shoot the breeze with Bob for about 45 minutes before going home and getting ready for work. The most important thing I should mention is that Serena completely bewitched the staff at Peet’s. She officially became their Team Mascot and they would give her cups of Whip Cream they called “Pup-O-Cino’s.” Over the past 6 weeks while I’ve been living at my parents house, Serena hasn’t gotten any cups of Whip Cream. So I took her back for one more walk and Pup-O-Cino. The staff loved on Serena for the last time and gave her an extra big cup of whip cream. We saw Peter, Marty, Daryl and Bob. And I got to walk her along the route where we started our Dog-Mom, Dog-baby life together. I leave for Minnesota on Wednesday to start y new adventure, and the sense of closure I got today was amazing. It was also poignant and deep. I got a chance to have lunch with my neighbor of 10 years who has Terminal Cancer. I said goodbye to another set of neighbors who love my dog as much as I do. Now, at the end of the day, I’m spent. This blog post won’t be spell checked, but it will be written with a sense of peace and contentment knowing that I haven’t left anything undone in California. I didn’t get a chance to see everyone I love, but I know they’re with me in my heart as Serena and I adventure on.

Sending you all my love and heart and hoping many of you will visit me in my new life in Minnesota.