Feeling Wiggly.

"Wanting to be other than where you are - who cursed you like that? Break that spell." - quote from A Year With Hafiz.

"Human woman, what are you thinking about?"
"Well, something unexpected happened today."
"What?"
"A new friend told me that she hated her cushy job and envied me the career path I have chosen."
"Wouldn't most humans secretly love to be envied?"
She smiled down at her pup. His honesty made for the best possible conversations.
"Yes. I think there would be some people who would like to be envied. It would make them feel justified and, frankly, a little important."
"But you didn't have that reaction?"
"No. I thought I should...but instead I just wanted to give her a hug and tell her that I would help her escape those golden handcuffs and go after her dream life."
Finnegan sat at her feet. "But you didn't tell her that, did you?"
"No. I hesitated. I won't make a promise I cannot keep."
"Good. A promise not kept is just as bad as an outright lie. Well, to a dog anyway."
"And to a human." 
Sighing, she reached into her pocket and found a piece of peanut butter cookie. She gave it to Finnegan, smiling as she watched happiness make him wiggly. Why couldn't all people be wiggly? She wondered. And how could she help her friend be brave enough to stop dreaming and start doing? There were so many people with talent and enthusiasm who found themselves in great paying jobs. But the jobs were paying for lives they didn't actually want to be living. No wiggling. No happiness. Just jobs that felt like jail cells, padded with dollar signs. And here she was at rock bottom, and another human, living comfortably, envied her for the pieces of the ladder she was hammering together. A ladder she was going to use to climb into the life she was determined to live. It was an unexpected moment, seeing herself through the lens of someone else's perspective. She had never considered that the view might be so positive. It was a gift she knew she would carry about with her for a very long time. Maybe forever. It was a gift she knew that someday, she would be able to share with another. 
"You're smiling, " Finnegan observed, hoping for  another cookie.
"Yes. I'm feeling wiggly."

The possibility of velvet leashes.

"Did you know that Henry VIII of England had velvet leashes for his dogs?"
"Yes, Finnegan. I did know that."
"Impressive. But did you know that mine was a beautiful emerald green?"
Slight pause. Surprised eyebrows. "Pardon?"
"Katherine picked it out for me. She said it went beautifully with my coloring."
"Katherine. As in Queen Katherine?"
"Well the scullery maid wasn't in charge of picking out colors for each dog's leash," Finnegan huffed. The very idea!
"Oh. Certainly. NOT the scullery maid who also happened to be called Katherine."
"Human Woman, you are laughing at me again. I am telling you the truth!"
"You somehow managed to swim in the first Olympics in Greece and then Zip! You were living in 16th-century England at the end of a velvet leash in Henry VIII's household. Um. I really need to check the ingredients on your bag of kibble."
"I'm telling the truth."
Oh, the finely pointed nose sticking in the air was tempting. She kissed it. Finnegan wiggled in happiness.
"Someday, Human, someday you'll see."
"I don't think it's possible for me to time-travel, Finn."
Astonishment popped his big coffee-dark eyes. She really believed that? How nonsensical! Why, he had big plans for his history-loving-writer-woman. BIG PLANS.
"You might, " He advised her, "Seriously reconsider your archaic belief system."
"Finn. You might seriously reconsider whether you want a walk."
"I'm just sayin'," He murmured as he trotted off to fetch his 21st-century plain black cotton leash.
Crazy Corgi, she thought, reaching for her sneakers. Such a dreamer. Her fingers paused between the loops of her laces. Since when had she ever thought dreaming was silly? Hmm. Since never. Funny, she hadn't had any memorable dreams of late. Maybe it was time to allow them back in. Maybe her belief system was a bit rusty. It couldn't hurt to play along with the Corgi. Maybe he really did have the ability to show her something as fabulous as an emerald velvet leash at the end of Henry VIII's big hand. That would certainly be something. Well, she told herself, it never hurts to stay open to possibility. Finnegan made a soft noise from the doorway. He was ready. There was no time left. They needed to be going.