The post here is a bit misleading; Morgan hosted a Galentine’s Day party with her friend so Cooper and I were kindly asked to find plans outside our home for the day. Fortunately, in spite of (or perhaps because of) over half a foot of snow arriving overnight, Jamison was down to go for a short hike at Mt. Tom.
We arrived to about 6-8″ of snow on the ground, just enough to make snowshoes seem more of a hindrance than a help, so we left them in the car in favor of spikes. The benefit of bringing a dog is that they break the trail for you anyway. Despite being a freshly minted ten year old, Cooper did his job well and enthusiastically.
I’m very lucky to have friends that are easy to be around where you don’t need to force conversation or pretend to be a different or better version of whoever you are that day. Jamison is an incredibly genuine person and I’m fortunate to have his friendship in my life.
We eventually completed a casual loop and headed back towards Springfield with roads now cleared and much less stressful to traverse. Cooper and I dropped Jamison at home and headed to the pet store where he took a bath and I did not, then went home as the last guests were leaving Morgan’s party. Cooper is always a fan favorite but after a couple drinks he was in high demand and folks stuck around for a few more minutes to pet the clean boy.
Not every day outside needs to be massive in order to be meaningful. Sometimes a relaxed morning with a good friend is exactly perfect.