Morning Routine
In the mornings on Monday thru Friday, Ryan and I have a very specific routine.
I get up at 5:50am and blindly shuffle from my alarm to the hallway and silently close the bedroom door behind me, leaving Ryan and Cali cuddling in the warm covers of a very warm bed.
I change into my workout clothes I have waiting for me in the guest bathroom and plod downstairs, slip on my sneakers, hoodie, ipod and headphones, beanie and gloves (it’s THAT cold). I do some basic stretches to loosen up the usual tight spots: legs, back, hamstrings. Then I open the front door, click on the outside light and start to jog, eyes still half closed. The cool air has woken me up by the time I exit our complex and head towards to streets surrounding Cal Lutheran University, which are always lit.
The quick loop I have my body trained to do with as little brain function as possible is 1.5 miles. It is just enough to wake me up and loosen up my achy muscles from the run the day before. I end the run back at my front door and after entering the warm house and removing my shoes, hoodie, ipod and headphones, beanie and gloves, I get a glass of water and do more stretching.
I tiptoe upstairs, strip down in the guest bathroom and quietly make my way into the bedroom where the boy and dog are still sound asleep. I brush my teeth and shower in our bedroom’s bathroom, but being the good wife that I am, I tiptoe back to the guest bathroom to blow dry my hair and apply makeup. Then it’s back to the bedroom where I get dressed for work in the dark and then go into our bedroom’s bathroom one more time to apply deodorant, and then I leave for work.
When running late, I am still at the house when Ryan finally rolls out of bed and he takes Cali for the same 1.5 mile run with his eyes half closed and Cali bouncing off the walls she’s so awake. She always seems surprised to see me in the mornings on the weekdays because I’m usually gone by the time she gets up.
But this morning, I was taking Cali on my run with me because my husband insists on playing soccer three times a week so that his body is too broken and bruised for any additional exercise.
When I leaned down and whispered in Cali’s droopy ear, “Hey baby, do you want to go for a run?” She perked right up and hopped off the bed before I could say the word “run.” I think she’s learned the sound of “do you want to” and knows right away it means something fun is going to happen. When you’re an active basenji, doing anything, no matter what it is, will always be fun.
Cali was at a full on gallop the minute the front door opened. I was talking to her throughout the run and leaning down to pat her head and it seemed to make her more excited. Her tail was constantly wagging, ears perked and a huge smile didn’t leave her face. She had a couple instances where she fought the urge to yawn, but when she did, she brushed it off as if willing herself awake. It was like she was saying, “I am NOT tired, I just LOVE to run too much to be tired!”
