Personal: Ari

He has no idea that it's his birthday. He doesn't even know what a birthday is. But I do.
I know that Ari turned two years old today. So to celebrate I took him on a hike, and instead of making him keep up with me, I let him stop on the trail as many times as he wanted to. Yes, it took a lot of time and patience. And no, I didn't get my sweat on as much as I normally do. But it felt great to be out in the sun for a few hours and he got to chase a lot more lizards and birds than he normally gets to.
So for his birthday, I got to be outdoors, slow down, laugh, appreciate beautiful scenery, get my tan on, laugh some more and focus on something other than whatever may have been weighing on my mind. Its amazing what I get out of loving on this Compton-born mutt.

Mind you, on our next hike I'm going to have to bring some treats with me and remind him what "heel" means. But he'll catch on quick. Thankfully, birthdays only come once a year. :)