This week was hard friends. Hard on our hearts, hard on our souls, just hard. Once those hard days were over though it was time to sit back and reflect on the shimmers of light through the hard, dark hours. Because they are always there. No matter what heartbreak you are going through there is always light, if only you remember to look for it. Here’s my Nourished Life Gratitude List 2016 Week 32. 
I started Monday off with a great evening run. I usually don’t run on Mondays because I do my long runs on a Sunday but my legs were feeling fresh and I had lots of energy from sitting at my desk. I was grateful to get out and just let myself burn off the day. 
On Wednesday Penny and I were taking an afternoon walk when we were attacked by a dog. It ran across two lanes of traffic and ripped Penny out of my arms. I couldn’t get it to let go and Penny was staring up at me with no idea what was happening. After the owner finally got his dog under control I scooped Penny into my arms and ran to the vet, which was luckily only a few hundred metres down the road. We didn’t know what was going to happen to her as she had internal injuries and had gone into shock. After a few nasty hours of waiting the vet said that the operation had been a success. I got to visit Penny the next day and while she wasn’t quite herself she was on the mend. On Friday when we finally got to take her home we watched her carefully all night and I slept on the floor with her to make sure she could wake me up if anything was wrong.
On Saturday she started going down hill again and that night Chris and I rushed her to the 24 hour emergency vet. Her heart rate was half of what it was supposed to be and she was nearing hypothermia as her temperature had dropped rapidly. The vet was concerned that she might have had more internal trauma that initially thought. They admitted her, and after a few hours discovered that she had a reaction to the pain relief patch that she had been prescribed. After a sleepless overnight wait and a long Sunday of finding distractions for my brain we finally picked her up last night. What a joy to have our Penny back again. She was licking, sniffing, snuffling and snuggling. Just like she had never been sick. I slept on the floor with her last night until Chris relieved me for his shift and I don’t think I slept a wink. She and I just stared at each other in the darkness. I am so grateful to all the hardworking vets, nurses and techs who brought our Penny back to us. She still has to recover from the surgery and it will be a while before she’s back on the road walking with me, but she’s back and she’s acting like herself again, and I am grateful that she is in our lives to stay. 
When I needed to distract myself from all that was going on while Penny was in the vet surgery for observation I took a long walk under the most beautiful winter sky. I could have walked all day. I was grateful for the distraction and the chance to breathe and process some of my emotions. 
Jess and Mum picked me up on Saturday morning to take me out for breakfast and coffee at the markets to take my mind off things. I was grateful for a few hours with these two. Jess surprised me at the end of breakfast with a beautiful bunch of flowers. I am so grateful for the love and support our families and friends have surrounded us with this week. Caroline kept me calm on the phone until Chris managed to get to the vet. Chris’s sister Rosie was open for any vet questions we desperately needed answered. Mum and Dad brought over a big cage to keep Penny contained while she heals. Jess helped me out massively with a baking job. Everyone was ready to talk and check in with us and sent their best wishes for Penny. I am grateful for this big group of people and the loving arms that wrapped us up safely this weekend. 
To end on a bit of a lighter note, I am grateful that I had some great books to distract me this weekend. I gobbled down ‘The Danish Girl‘ by David Ebershoff in two days and munched up most of Lindy West’s ‘Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman‘ yesterday afternoon while waiting to pick up Miss P. I highly recommend both. If they could keep my brain distracted they’ll be a reading joy for you too.
Tell me, dear readers, what are you grateful for this week?