Day 16,265: Sunday Shelter Therapy

Dan and I are finally waking up to the fact that our daughter is growing up. Okay, we've been in denial. More and more, we are seeing less and less of her around here. The majority of her weekends are spent at work or with friends. The rest of her time is spent napping.

After all of these years of having a relatively inflexible weekend itinerary, Dan and I are finding ourselves alone together a lot more often now. We like it. We are meeting each other for the first time, all over again. Of course we miss our daughter terribly when she isn't with us and, yes, we know it will be a big adjustment when she heads off to college. But odds are looking reasonable to favorable that he and I are going to be just fine. This might even be the very beginning of what could turn out to be a very rewarding chapter of our marriage. Who knew?

As we are still getting used to so much freedom, we are pretty fumbly about what to do with so much time together. Our options are relatively limitless, but we seem prone to choosing those which involve the consumption of food. This could get pretty expensive (and expansive) over time. So today we decided to put our forks down and pay a visit to our local no-kill animal shelter for the purpose of giving the cats there some big love ... and grooming, as needed. (In the photo, Dan is tentatively giving three-legged Gabriel the belly brush special.)

We adopted our two cats, Garrett and Tansy, from this shelter back in 2007. Garrett had been there for two years and Tansy had been there for four. This is a wonderful organization with a big-hearted staff. We want to support them in whatever way that we can ... especially in light of the current economic circumstances when so many people are surrending or (worse) abandoning their pets. If these animals have to wait somewhere for new forever homes, they are very lucky to do that waiting here.

We always feel good for having spent time there, even if we can't stay as long as we'd like. I would love to return to weekly visits some day, because I know it makes a difference ... not only for the animals, but for me as well. Therapy. Volunteering is good for the soul.