The stern voice was necessary.

“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life. “

~ Rumi

Touches of tenderness.

My world is full of them.  From the stranger who hugged me this morning to the hugs of my friends and family .... my world is FULL of compassion and tenderness.

These moments, like the words of Rumi, make my world rock.

This morning’s ramble was less about the ramble and more about the talking.  I met SO many people and STOPPED to chat frequently.  The hound was a tad confused as, not only did I stop and chat to TOO many people, but our ramble OFF the beach was longer than our ramble ON the beach.  That was NO fault of mine though.

The hound and I are far more visible than what I often realise.  Proof of this was the lady I met on the way up to the view-site who loves spotting us on our rambles.  She looks for the camera and the hound and she knows it’s me.  You meet people at times with whom you have an instant connection ... she was one such person. We met as strangers today and left as friends.  That was my FIRST hug of the day.

My second hug came from the most unexpected source.  
The last person I expect to see on our early morning rambles is Suzanne and her ADD hound, Bella.  
Suzanne doesn’t DO early morning rambles!  

She has a new job though so is trying to fit in walking Bella before work.  Bella, with Suzanne in tow .... definitely NOT the other way round, was delighted to meet up with the hound. The two of them gambolled and cavorted like puppies as we continued up to the view site.  Bella would have joined us at the beach if she could have but Suzanne had to get home

Between Bandit and Sarah, Paddy, Amanda and her two rat-bags, Manuaka and Kea, Julia and Indy, Pete ... who seemed a little grumpity this morning, and Brian and Niko and Niko’s g/f, our ramble was more about talk than walk today!  We very quickly ran out of ramble time! 

Despite the lateness of the hour ... in terms of being ready for work on time .... a shot of caffeine was still a necessity!  No ramble is complete without the obligatory shot of caffeine.  The hound had other ideas.  She’d found the most humungous piece of driftwood and wanted to parade it up and down the beach for all to see.  The stern voice was necessary.

On a completely different tack, I have been spoken to sternly too ... by my middle lemming nogal!  I’ve discovered that I don’t self-heal quite as well as I thought I did.  That wound that the hound inflicted on my leg a week and a bit ago has gone frot.  A visit to A+E was necessary ... and another visit was necessary tonight .... and I have been instructed to visit them again tomorrow. 
 I think they like my company.

I have been sternly instructed to keep the leg dry.  Sternly instructing nurse added a waterproof dressing to it this evening as she realised I have NO intention of NOT going on the beach.  I have a hound.  She likes to get wet.  Beach rambling is necessary.

Fortunately sternly instructing nurse has a sense of humour and found it very difficult to keep  a straight face at my tale of woe and at my middle lemming’s righteous indignation.  Middle lemming was right from one perspective ... if it had been any of my lemming’s or my other half who’d been wounded, I would have insisted, nay DEMANDED, that they go to A+E.

I need to learn to walk my talk.