Abby Sunshine

It is Christmas Eve and we awoke to inches and inches of beautiful, fluffy snow. Abby Sunshine didn’t hesitate to play in it. It is so deep for little Abby, that she must use some finesse when retrieving her “dummy.” (We have learned not to use tennis balls in the snow- they disappear very quickly, not to be found until spring).

She carefully looks for her toy.

Next, she makes an energetic bound and runs from where she found it, jumping through the deep snow.

Let me show you another real life example:

Here you can see that Abby is searching.And here you can see that she has grabbed it. With great energy and strength, she pops out of the deep snow and runs. It’s as if she understands physics! She is minimizing friction. She uses less energy to travel through the air than trudging through the snow.

OK, if you don’t believe it yet, here is example #3. She is just below the wind chimes. As you look, you can imagine their gentle sound on this quiet, snowy morn.

Looking, tail up, she knows it’s there. . . Yes, it is! Now she bounds away.

When have you had been calm and steadfast, and then had to turn it up a notch to really get the job done? In Abby’s world of deep snow, she must be calm to find the “bird” but exert a big push to get through that snow and bring it back to me. It reminds me of a lot of things I do. Maybe I want to go skiing, so I need the calm energy to plan, get the skis ready, and so on. Next, and perhaps most importantly, I need the PUSH of energy to get out the door and do it! If I think of Abby’s attitude, perhaps it will be a little easier. Why wait? Just think about what Abby would do. . . What kinds of things do you do where you could use that extra burst of energy?

Here she is getting a better grip.And now she’s flying toward me, full steam. Again, again, again???