Hello and happy TWD premiere day — I mean Sunday. [Blogged while wondering why I picked such an uncomfortable position to write this.] As most of you know, I have a black lab named Jake who I love more than anyone I know and will know in my lifetime. Last week we learned he has bone cancer. It’s an aggressive cancer, which means he has a few months (fingers crossed) to live. Yes, it’s all very sad. But I’m not disclosing this as an invitation to a pity party. I’m writing about it because of the clarity it brought me.

When we got back from the vet, I started to notice every small nuance. The way his little eyebrows move when he looks around, how his paws bend in the cutest way when he walks, how he makes the most adorable sniffling noises when he wakes up in the morning. And it didn’t stop there. Things that once annoyed me became appreciated. Welcomed, even. His frequent high-pitched bark, his needing to go outside every 10 minutes on the minute.

And this made me think. Why does it take us so long to appreciate what we have? Like, truly, genuinely appreciate it. I crave my drool-soaked puppy kisses, hair-covered bed sheets and dirty paw-printed clothes. Because I know that in a few short months, I won’t have any of that anymore.

How amazing would it be if we all learned to appreciate and even enjoy the things that bother us because we recognize that one day they won’t be there? Think how much happier and more satisfied with life we’d all be. Less stressed, less angry and less concerned with meaningless worries.

You know, kinda like how a dog lives.