Choosing Joy: A Dog, A Stick, and Disco Therapy

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Choosing Joy: A Dog, A Stick, and Disco Therapy | Duluth Moms Blog

As the fall season approaches I am cherishing these warm and sunny 60-degree mornings here in Duluth. As I write this, I’m lucky enough to have the day off work and be alone for the day. My spirited four-year-old is at daycare, and so it’s just me and the dogs! First things first, my restless legs are telling me to get some exercise. 

It’s the perfect morning to take my 12-year-old dog Hammy to Park Point beach for a walk. I know he won’t be able to experience these outings for too much longer at his age. So it’s time for some special one-on-one time. 

“Nine-Lives” Hammy

We get outside to my trusty, much-loved Subaru and I help the old-timer into the back. He can jump, but only enough to get his front legs up. So I lift his hind legs and backside up and into my wagon. 

Hammy has been through a lot of health scares throughout his life, from being run over by a truck to being diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. My husband and I jokingly say in a way he’s like a cat with nine-lives because he has overcome so many physical hurdles in his life. But all jokes aside, I love him like he’s my first-born child. He was the first dog my husband and I raised together after getting hitched 13 years ago this summer.

Choosing Joy: A Dog, A Stick, and Disco Therapy | Duluth Moms Blog
This is our Hammy at Park Point beach.

A Walk Down the Beach

It’s an uneventful, yet peaceful drive through town and eventually we make it across the mighty and magnificent steel lift bridge and arrive at the first public beach access along Minnesota Ave. This was my first time parking and entering the beach here—despite having lived here for six years. It is usually slammed on the weekends, so this is a treat!

There were a few moms and kids also on the beach; also a group of what looked like volunteers cleaning up the beach picking up plastic and garbage that probably drifted onto the sandy shores over the tumultuous winter and spring months. In my mind, I thanked them for cleaning up this beautiful natural landscape for all of us to enjoy! 

Hammy and I started our slow, gentle walk. Yes, very slow. According to WebMD, he is 77 years old in dog years. He doesn’t exactly like to move fast as you would imagine. We inevitably found a stick to play fetch with. As you may know, there is no shortage of perfectly-shaped sticks on this beach. It is pure joy for any dog that loves a good stick, which pretty much sums up all dogs! 

It’s in this moment, I realize there’s something special about a dog and a stick. (Perhaps it’s that I’m feeling sentimental about Hammy!) The minute he picks up this stick, there is an instantaneous happiness bursting from his limbs in all directions. His tail, his legs, and his eyes are all hoping that I will throw that stick and he can fetch it! 

Anyone Want Instant Happiness?

My wish for everyone in the world is that they find this one thing (or more) that makes them instantly happy. If only humans could be this simple! No, we are not dogs. But, I do believe we can all make a choice everyday to find joy, in essence, our “stick.” We can make joy happen. 

Yesterday, I decided it was a day to listen to disco music. I work from home full-time so I get sick of music genres pretty quickly. I’m always searching Spotify for a good “happy vibes” playlist or something to keep my mood uplifted throughout the day.

Disco music for me symbolizes wedding dances; those joyous times when you have close friends and family around you dancing their hearts out. The song that mostly comes to mind is, “We are Family” by Sister Sledge. I’ve even experienced that cheesy moment at a family wedding where a number of us family members were holding hands and dancing to this song. But it was amazing and I will never forget that joy filled wedding moment!

Choosing Joy: A Dog, A Stick, and Disco Therapy | Duluth Moms Blog

It’s Your Turn to Choose Joy

So Hammy found his stick on the beach that day and perhaps I’ve found my “stick” too in the form of disco music! I think music can cultivate joy like nothing else in this world. 

On a side note, music is also often used as a form of therapy. According to the University of New Hampshire, “Music therapy uses music to address a number of emotional, cognitive, and social issues in people of all ages…The process of making and listening to music can provide a channel for communication and expression that may go beyond what is easily expressed in words.”

So, the next time I’m feeling stressed or anxious (which happens daily with raising a spirited four-year-old and recent life challenges), you can probably expect to hear some disco music in my house. Thank you, Hammy, for teaching me this simple lesson. Now, it’s your turn, mama. Go out there and find your “stick.” It’s time to choose joy.