The Thing With Feathers
Photo courtesy of Gratisography
Tuesday, November 25th, 2025Wally comes home tomorrow, and I’m in that familiar limbo of excited and anxious. I’m driving down to pick him up and get briefed on how to keep him trained and how to keep a heeler from taking over my life. The trainer told me he’d need a “lifestyle change”, and I thought, “Don’t we all?”
I got back from Mexico last week, which was genuinely great. My friend and I went to Cabos, Los Barriles, and La Paz. The beaches were amazing, the water was the bluest I’ve ever seen, and the sand was powder soft and whiter than I was. I somehow managed to return without a sunburn and just the faintest of tan lines. I ate my way through a criminal number of fish and shrimp tacos, washed down with an unacceptable number of tequila shots. Honestly though, the best part was adventuring with my friend. Wild that the whole thing started when I stopped her while walking her dogs on the street months ago.
One decision to put yourself out there, and suddenly you’re in Baja, trying not to step on a jellyfish.
Re-entry into work was… abrupt. The day before, I was in warm water and sunshine, the next I’m back to the rain and darkness, being hit with office nonsense before I’ve even reacclimated to wearing shoes. I’m trying to take the advice of people whose jobs seem to involve far fewer headaches: “care less” and “focus on the job’s function” as in, what function is this serving in my life? That mindset buys me about 30 minutes before someone does something ridiculous to reset the clock
I’m also exploring the idea of letting things be “easy,” which is not a skill I naturally possess. The holiday season is making things feel too easy—everything feels like permission to procrastinate, and I feel a little too enthusiastic about jumping in with both feet. Meanwhile, work is ramping up for the new season, and I’m doing that thing where ambition and apathy fight to the death in the corner. My money’s on apathy.
And yet, here’s the interesting part: a few things I set in motion a while ago have started showing the tiniest signs of life. Nothing dramatic, nothing that requires a vision board—just small developments in a direction that I feel good about. As someone who plans too much and does too little, I’m trying to gently coax things without forcing them. Simply acknowledging the motion without rushing it along.
Hope. It’s the thing with feathers. Quiet. Persistent. Sometimes obnoxiously subtle.
Wally comes home tomorrow. The little nudges are adding up, and maybe that’s enough for right now.
Stay Gritty