I am happiest when...

I am happiest I can be on those sunset walks with my dog Oliver. With several ponds in my middle-class subdivision, it provides this dreamlike escape. You can't help but overlook the plain boring houses and watch the sun and sky and all its colors reflect on the calm water. Some days I will have my headphones in, some days I will walk to sound of the heavy winds I am walking against. Some days I will just laugh and watch my dog stop every few seconds to sniff the grass. Some days I will be screaming at Oliver because he's trying to eat the leftover fast food people just littered. It is not just what there is to be seen that makes the walks so serene, it's how I don't give a care for the time that is being passed. Sometimes I come back home after two hours not realizing how long I was gone for. I can't help but wonder what keeps me out for that long. It's those random people that stop to ask me what kind of dog I have. It’s those people who say the white paws on my black dog makes it look like he's wearing socks. It's those frights I have when my whole body get pulled forward abruptly because Oliver has spotted a bunny that he must chase. It's the feeling that I am freeing my dog. He looks so liberated the minute he walks into fresh air. The way he walks changes. His fluffy tail shoots up and he looks like a man on a mission. When nobody is around and I feel that it is safe to let Oliver free, I admire how he will only go so far and continue to look back to make sure we are going in the same direction. And if I start to run away from him, he will come dashing after me. It's the humor in the two conditions where I know no matter what, Oliver will not listen to me. The first being that if its hot and there is a body of water in proximity, Oliver will be sure to let you know that he is a Portuguese Water Dog. And lastly if we walk past his crush’s house, Misty, a dog twice the size of him, he will most definitely make us wait in the front lawn to see if she will come out. The reason I get so happy on these walks is because Oliver is so happy. And that is why I am happiest I can be on those sunset walks with my dog Oliver.