Sunrise 7:09: Fear and preparation

The Advent Season has begun. And signs of Christmas are everywhere. The female Dawn Jogger has watched sort of Christmas tree (Pictured: What exactly is it? It has a cactus look.) grow for a number of years. It's planted on what the DJs refer to as the Mr. Buster Memorial Lawn. Mr. Buster and MaryAnn walked their Golden Retrievers (one of which was named Buster) in the Stanford arboretum when Cassie was a young dog. Cassie and Buster, who had never before been much interested in females, romped on this patch of green near the mausoleum, much to the amusement of the humans.

Somehow these decade ago dawm encounters and a couple of moments from the past weekend merged in the female DJ's mind on her jog this morning. Twice she encouraged to "not be afraid," something Cassie has always been particularly good at. While one came in a secular enounter and the other as part of an Advent homily, both spoke to trying to live a more authentic life. And both were words taken to heart given the difficult path the DJs are walking (or wobbling, as the male DJ would report).