SONG FOR A WINTER'S NIGHT

Disclaimer - Let's just be clear right from the get go - I don't proclaim  to be a great photographer.  And many times that frustrates me because I don't often "capture" something I see - as I see it.  At ANY rate...

So last night, after catching great JOY watching the 2014 Olympic coverage

 particularly skating JOY watching the women skate for their teams - I had the distinct pleasurable PITA experience of walking Miss Daisy at 11 o'clock at night in our icy cold, snowy yard.

Now before I go into that - please know - I have waited 12 years to watch Olympic ice skating with my daughter.  I was a rabid figure skating fan for YEARS back in the 80s and 90s. NOTHING got in my way of watching my skaters compete.  I remember being at a Valentines Day dance fundraiser in 1988 and it was the night of the Women's final skate at the '88 Olympics.  A) I refused to go unless there was a tv there and B) There was a tv there and I was a fixture in front of it;  Let me tell you, I was a magnet.  I had like half the "dancers" behind me watching Debi Thomas and Katernia Witt in the "Battle of the Carmens" vying to medal!  (BTW - Thomas won bronze and Witt gold.  I will never forget!)

Anyway - in 2010, I really wanted that skating JOY during the Olympics and even though my girl was skating, no matter how many times I yelled out, "Brooke!  Skating's on!!  Come watch!". NOTHIN'. Such skating disJOY disinterest took the wind outta my skating sails.

This year??  "Mom!!!  Hurry!  Skating's ON!   Ashley's on!  Jason's on!". Or my personal fav - "Your Russian is ON!  Evgeny Plushenko is on!!  Hurry!". 

Can you FEEL my PULSATING JOYJOYJOY???  Seriously, you have NO idea.  I feel like I have waited forever to hear those sweet words.  

Which as an aside hope I haven't bored you to death yet - Do you have any idea how much JOY I have because my daughter IS a skater??  I have dreamed my whole adult life about my daughter skating.  I dreamed my whole child life about ME becoming a skater!  And I did pursue that dream in my 30s I was horrible!   Just horrible!  LOL but of course life got in the way.  

So while it is sooooo JOYful to watch her skate everyday and be a part of Team Brooke, it's HER passion for skating that sends me.  I catch JOY every single minute she is on the ice and trust me - THAT'S alot of minutes.  Precisely?  At least 600 minutes a week or more.  (That would be more than 10 hours in real time...) and lest we forget the mostly JOYful rides to and fro.  Another 10 hours!  Dat's a lotta JOY!  I'm so lucky and very GRATEFUL!

Ok so let's get back to the point of this post and Daisy Mae.  

Her last walk of the night, last night.  Now you might suggest - why don't you just get one of those electric fence thingies that people install and then Miss Daisy can just be let out to run?  Not happenin'.  We live on a very busy state road and having experienced one "escape" on that road when Daisy Mae was a puppy, the thought of just one "mishap" running thru that "fence" - paralyzes me.  The other thing I am not interested in adding to my life? 

No.Thank.You.

ANYWAY - jeez I am taking a long time to get to the teeny, tiny JOY point of this blog post.  I KNOW you are dying of curiosity.

So, I harness her up and don't bother to get a jacket over my pjs, walk out the door and take her to the one snowless spot in the damn yard which is under a blue spruce.  

The last thing I need at 11 o'clock at night, is to spend 5 hours being led around the snowy yard while she is poking and sniffing around the snow looking for the perfect damn pee spot.  Did I mention the yard is snowy?  And cold?  And DARK?

So I'm standing there and I look up.

Can you see it?  Can you see it??  Can you SEE it???

Isn't it great??  LOL.  It's like a Christmas ornament hanging off the tree!!  Aren't you excited??  I knowwwww - right?  (hahahahaha)  

I caught JOY peeing the dog on a freezing cold night.  Well what do you know about THAT...