I have no idea how I’ll attain the following goals. I don’t know where they’ll come from or how they’ll arrive, but I have two random desires that I think about a lot; and it’s time I put them out on the Interwebs (what my kids call it).
1. A Toyota 4Runner
Doesn’t have to be new. In fact, I like the looks of an older model, around ’95. Its manual gears (if they exist) remind me of my dad’s Toyota truck that I drove when I was a teenager. The 4Runner is an extension of who I am inside: adventurous.
I drive an old Toyota Corolla that my father-in-law gave us. [yawn]
Did I mention that we don’t have a budget to buy a new car?
2. Two dogs
Again, childhood draws me back to a time when dogs were as normal to have around as the dining room table. We never had to take them for walks because they just roamed around our acreage in the Santa Barbara hills.
(Things have changed at my parent’s home. Dogs can’t just roam around the hills because the hills are full of private homes now.)
I read this article this morning from Bark Magazine about a man transitioning to minimalist shoes and running with his aging dog. The photo on page two is precious. We love taking photos of our feet, but this one also has the foot of his partner (his faithful dog) in it. Very touching.
I LOVE DOGS. Love them.
So here’s the vision: Caity running down the street, two beautiful, mindful dogs in tow. All three of us are barefoot.
Every time I run to the beach I think of this. I should be running with my dogs.
Did I mention that we don’t have room for two dogs? That we have two cats? That my husband doesn’t want one dog, let alone two?
Alright Universe, do your thing. 
6 comments
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Melanie Esqueda
July 16, 2011 at 7:34 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Caity! I am a dog lover, also. We have 4 dogs, each one with a distinct personality. I simply can’t imagine life without them. I really hope you get your two dogs. They are precious.
I looked at the pic of the guy with his dog that you referred to. Totally brought a smile to my face!
Have a nice weekend!
caity
July 19, 2011 at 2:47 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Melanie – thanks for your comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed that photo on the article I referred to… very sweet. I imagine your dogs are so much fun! Enjoy! And I’ll let you know when I adopt one – or two.
Tracy Longacre
July 19, 2011 at 1:17 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Caity,
re: the car — I would seriously invite you to rethink that dream. Somehow, maybe it’s just me, but it seems pretty antithetical to the barefoot lifestyle to drive a large gas-guzzling SUV. . . You are not adventurous because of the car you drive, you are adventurous because you are Caity and what you do.
re: the dogs — people have dogs in the smallest of places (I used to live in Rome — German Shepherds and Great Danes were all the rage and everyone lived in tiny apartments). The husband thing sounds like the real heart of the matter. But what about this — I know many animal shelters around the country have programs where volunteers come and take dogs out to socialize them, play with them, exercise them. Maybe you could “rent” dogs from your local shelter a few times a week? Or maybe you have a friend who has dogs who need to run?
caity
July 19, 2011 at 2:45 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Tracy, I completely understand your point about the gas-guzzling SUV thing. And why would I want to spend money buying a new (to me) car, spending more for insurance and more for gas? Once in a while I fall into the consumer trap and then some kind person in my life (you this time) helps me see the light. My husband is good at that, too. He points out that I don’t really need this *thing* to make me feel some certain way. You’re right – I’m adventurous because I’m adventurous, not because of a car I want. Thanks for that!
Re: the dogs. The truth is that I have a neighbor whose dog I walk sometimes and it’s really nice. It’s like being a grandparent – at the end of the walk, I bring her back to mama.
(And my kids and I love going to the local shelter – it feeds my desire to hang out with dogs. Thanks for the idea of going further with that – creating a schedule where I come and walk/socialize them.)
Tracy Longacre
July 20, 2011 at 10:32 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
He he, yea and you know one of these days your kids are going to so desperately want their own dog, they might actually wear your husband down.
Do you know Steve Runner of the Phedippidations podcast? He never wanted a dog. Finally his family wore him down. Now the dogs (a few months after the first, they got a SECOND) are HIS! So, so funny. Men are strange
caity
July 20, 2011 at 10:49 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Ha! That’s great… and, yes, men certainly are strange, indeed.