Expedition Recovery

The cool crisp morning air instantly shocked me into remembrance, mostly the absence of Woden.   This was my first walk without him and I miss him. I miss him every day. I soon teared up and began to cry. I gave into the sadness, the heartbreak of loss, and the memory of that traumatic experience. I walked our usual route that we took so many times before, letting my mind wander. My current neck injury prevented me from going for the run my body so desperately yearned for. Fear of re-injury was forcing me to walk at the pace Woden and I so often have shared. Physical pain along with the emotional pain of loss forced me to contemplate what was going on inside my head. I reflected on the rapidly ending derby season and the goals I set for myself. These thoughts brought on worries and fears of new endeavors such as climbing, which caused the current injury. I continued walking and just letting myself feel. I thought about myself. About one year ago or even s...

“Making room for second dinners?” Was Vera’s quip from her place among the pile of blankets and cats upon the love seat. “You know, roasted vegetables and ice cream.’ I responded It would seem like a simple enough exchange from two friends cooking together after some shopping, except that we hadn’t left the house all day. It had been a lazy Saturday morning in Sacramento and by dinner we had decided why leave the house at all.  Pizza was ordered. Veggies were chopped and roasted.  But we just didn’t have everything we needed. What to do if your out sick and still want fresh fruit and some ice cream.... Just a few weeks ago I was in Central America and in just a few weeks I will be back in central Alaska.  While a few thousand miles either way doesn’t seem like much, it is literally worlds apart. Yet here in northern California I didn’t have to go anywhere. Within the last few months I was in places that I would spend an entire day looking for just a pad ...

It is with a heavy heart that I say good bye to my best friend, and my director of moral support. Woden was an amazing dog who came into my life and brightened every day of it. He believed with all his heart that he was a person too and just couldn’t figure out why he didn’t get all the same privileges that rest of the people got.  He entered this world on February 9 th of 2012 and came home to live me with me in Alaska on April 14 th of 2012.  His first day in Alaska was spent with me on the gun range where he seemed drawn to the smell of all the instructors, despite a lot of very eager police recruits wanting to see him. He started out as the only dog of the house but came to share the space with his begrudging mentor Mop, the old man of the house who made sure to show Woden who was boss.    Woden ended up at his peak weighing the same 185 pounds as his father, Zack Sherman, and was always willing to play and wrestle.  Li...