Pure Bliss

It has been raining off and on all day. 

The moment I got home the rain had subsided, so I walked in the door and immediately changed into dog-walking clothes. 

Masala was beside himself with happiness at the prospect of getting out of the house more than an hour before his usual walk time.  We put on the harness and leash, grabbed the poop bags, and bolted out the door.

The rain sprinkled on us, but it was nothing a girl can't handle.  I didn't even bother with a raincoat; what's the point?  A little water isn't going to kill me. 

We were striding happily along, Masala prancing and not even remembering to do his doggie "business," when without even a moment's notice the bottom fell out of the sky.

Torrential downpour. 

We turned tail and headed home, but we had already gone several blocks down the street.  At first I was all, "Oh, it's just water, no need to rush."  Thirty seconds later my tune changed.  Enough is enough, and besides, Masala needed to get at least a little bit of energy out before we settled in for a rainy night. 

So we began to run.  The poor dog has no idea what to do when I pick up the pace like this.  At first he is startled, then he patters along beside me, and ultimately he bolts ahead like he is trying to cross the finish line before me.  Then he'll stop, wait for me, and we repeat the process.

Eventually he settled into my stride, and as we're sprinting down the sidewalk toward home, rain pounding on us, I look down and notice that he is literally bounding.  Not just a trot, but full-on front paws coming up at the same time and then the back paws following.  We are joined in a common mission to get the hell out of this rain before we drown.  I let out a giant laugh and realize that for one moment, my life is perfect. 

I am giggling the rest of the way as he is determined to get out of the wet.  As soon as we see our house, he's darting across the lawn, jumping up the steps to the porch.  He then gave me a look that said, "Don't you EVER do that again."