The TallGrass Blog

Inspiration can come on many different levels, and sometimes the most profound are from small daily occurrences, like walking our dog, Lilly.

When she was 4 months old, Lilly had major health issues that caused her to be temporarily paralyzed for several months. With my husband Chuck’s love and persistence, she overcame the cause of her illness but she was left with a wiggly, uncoordinated body. And now, add to that, she’s rapidly losing her eyesight plus arthritis has made her legs and feet swollen and terribly painful, too. So, when I take her on a walk, she constantly trips, falls, walks into fence posts, totters into ditches, runs into trees. I do my best to prevent these mishaps, but sometimes I can’t catch her before she has a wreck and a mouthful of dirt. Invariably, she picks herself up, shakes her head and runs happily onward.

You would think she’d prefer to stay home, lay in her comfy bed and rest. But NO! She doesn’t want to miss a thing and is ready and willing to go with me at anytime – day or night – out with the horses, in the car, down the road, on the trail. This old girl has more “try” than I’ll ever begin to have. She inspires me every day to not sweat the small stuff and try to not sweat the big stuff, either. She teaches me to pick myself up and move on with a happy, positive spirit!

Let’s not miss anything in this New Year. We may stumble, or take a serious fall, but so much can be accomplished with a positive, resilient attitude. I’ll bet you have someone in your life who inspires you to keep on truckin’. Please take a moment to tell us about him or her by sending us a message on Facebook or posting a comment to this blog. We’d love to hear your story.

We wish you a joyous, healthy and prosperous 2011. And, we thank you for your friendship and patronage.