We were returning from Costco with the vehicle loaded with groceries plus sundry other items that we had no need of until we walked into Costco an hour earlier. As we approached the driveway, Greg kept asking "Should I stop here?"
I have to confess that I was becoming a tad perturbed by the question after the third time. However by then we were perfectly positioned for the craziness we were about to embark on. As in most of our life adventures, it made perfect sense to us when we conceived the plan. I pulled the camera out of the glove compartment, turned it on and removed the lens cap amidst a stream of questions from my compadre. From the basic, "Do you have it turned on?" to the more advanced "Are you sure you know how to video?" Both questions would be somewhat critical to what was about to unfold.
We slid open the sunroof, and I climbed up onto the passenger seat sticking my head out the window while seeking a way to brace myself once the car started to move again. Sometimes there are advantages to being vertically challenged, this was one of those times. We were on a mission to capture the wonderfully regal welcome that Kanti gives us when we return home. It seemed important to get it on film and share it because it is one of those things that words don't do justice to. Words don't catch the expectancy with which she sits waiting at the curve in the driveway head alert and ears perked. They don't adequately convey the pride she demonstrates in providing an escort to the door and they certainly can't capture the lightening burst of speed she brings on at the end to scare the squirrel from the bird feeder so we can safely drive into the garage. It is a routine that doesn't change and we really wanted to show you what it looks like.
We rounded the corner and there she was, just like she always is, sitting expectantly. I thought I had the camera on video and we were good to go. But several crazy things happened then that have provided food for thought. Kanti sat, no longer looking expectantly. Her look changed to incredulity and bemusement when she realized that my upper body was sticking out the top of the vehicle - this was a scene she had never witnessed. And she continued to sit, just looking. We kept driving very slowly thinking she would launch into her trademark escort run and assuming the camera was taping. But she walked very slowly beside the car staring at me all the way to the garage and I failed to push one critical button, so we did not get the video we wanted. Kanti was contemplating the craziness.
There were a few times this week in the course of my paying gig that I contemplated the craziness. Looking on with incredulity as things unfolded around me that I had not anticipated. I know that is normal in any work week, we all experience those moments. This week's craziness had a bit of irony in it when someone apologized to me for having me chase my tail for the past several months. I nearly laughed out loud through the frustration remembering that last week I had expounded on how we needed to reframe the concept of chasing one's tail. It was in that moment that I was reminded of our goofy hound and the driveway incident, and the fact that there is value in being still at strategic times and contemplating the craziness instead of reacting.
The Kanti lesson is to sit still initially, contemplate carefully, move slowly, and keep your attention on those you love because eventually you will figure out what is going on, and with that new knowledge good things will come out of the craziness if you are just patient.
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