Consistency

Since adopting Molly last week, I've thought a lot about consistency. She has been shuffled around from place to place (on the streets to foster homes to her now permanent home), so it's understandable that she was pretty weirded out for the first couple of days with me. She didn't really know what to do with herself, so she'd just lay there...all day. But now, as she's getting used to things and realizing that I'm her permanent mama, she has relaxed a lot more.

Only a week has gone by but already her personality is shining through. For example, when I'm about to take her for a walk, she stands up on her back legs to help me put her collar on. When she gets excited, she jumps in circles like a ballet dancer. And when she just wants to be loved, she won't wait for you to come to her...she'll go directly to you and sit on your lap and roll over, so that you can rub her tummy.

[My heart squeezes]

Mark often tells her, "You're not going anywhere...we're gonna love you so much, you're going to get tired of us." And even though he's only talking to Molly and she's just a dog, we operate the same way. As much as I love new adventures and doing new things all the time, a little consistency is nice. A consistent job, consistent warm weather, consistent runs along the river, consistent meals...these are all things that make our life enjoyable, but we often take it for granted because we tend to focus on the negative (yes, a consistent job, but also a boring job; yes, warm weather, but now it's getting too hot; etc.).

I've been very busy, especially on the weekends, but I feel so comfortable with where I'm at. Every month, I write an article. Every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday I tutor. Every Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I work at the radio station. Every Sunday, I go to church. Every morning, I have my hot cup of coffee and breakfast. And even if this sounds boring to you, it's thrilling in the sense that I've managed to create a very "normal" life in what used to be a very, very foreign environment. I'm not sure if I'm articulating it right, but the simple juxtaposition of that previous sentence is what makes life interesting.

And the special moments, the not-so-regular ones, that are interspersed with the very regular day-to-day things is what brings a smile to my face. Because it is in those moments that I realize I have the best boyfriend, friends and family in the world.

[The bridge I live near...en route to meet Mark for a night ride]

[This is after I told him that his camera smile didn't look genuine...sorry, Mark!]


[At Yeoido Park]

Until next time, ciao.