04/02/2026
Sometimes as a child, you don’t appreciate and value of lessons and training you go through in your younger years until later in life when you are older and “wiser”. (I use the word “wisely” loosely)…
If you grew up in the 1970’s, there was a Presidential Fitness Program in which the schools erected “Obstacle Courses”, that if you completed the course properly, you received a “Presidential Award”.
Well, for myself and most of my friends, we would dread obstacle course days, the practicing and the testing. We didn’t see the reason for or benefits of this torture at the time.
It was just another opportunity to display our lack of physical prowess in gym class.
I never appreciated these days until now.
I have added a 3rd rescue dog to the pack. Now there is Huck, a 23 pound Terrier mix, Mable, a 35 pound Fox Terrier & Queensland Heeler mix, and the most recent addition, Maggie, a 71 pound German Shepherd mix.
They are all getting along very well, and have accepted me into their pack, and have actually made me their leader.
This being said, these guys have no sense of personal space, and if you have dogs, you know that this position comes with a built in entourage and security detail, wether you want it or not.
It is nice to be accepted by them and to be honored as their leader, but that means I am never alone, NEVER… alone…
This is where the childhood trama induced obstacle course debacle now pays off.
As an adult, with three wonderful canine companions, I now currently have my very own “Dogsticle Course”.
I have learned to gracefully hurdle, leap, dodge, circumvent multiple dog related obstacles without causing injury to my self or the critters.
Lesson learned, sometimes the things we think are traumatic that we endured as kids can make sense now and be beneficial to us later.
So when you are being tried and tested in life, have faith and look for the lessons learned and the blessing received later on !