Focus

This is my Lily. 

This is how she looks at every corner on our walks.

This is how she looks if we're hiking and a horse is heading our way.

FOCUS.

It's her strong point.  No matter what is going on around us, she will never take her eyes off me until I say, "Okay!"

We went for a hike this morning that turned out to be a disaster.  One of my favorite trails is what we have dubbed The Horse Trail.  Because we frequently run into riders.  It's never a big deal.  We get her off to the side of the trail as a courtesy to the horses and riders. She got to meet her first horse as a puppy and she's obsessed with them now.  She would greet every single one if she could.  But it's a danger for her and for the horses who don't appreciate dogs so mommy says 'no.'

Back to the disaster.  Usually we run into them every few hills.  Usually it's two to four riders in a group.  Sometimes it's a lone rider.  But this morning it seems everyone and their brother, mother, sister, cousin, roommate, boyfriend, etc. thought "I want to go to Griffith Park for a horse ride!"  We made it halfway through the hike when the first caravan came by.  25 riders.  She never took her eyes off me or moved.

FOCUS.

I decided that my lungs couldn't handle walking behind all the horses because my asthma was acting up.  So we turned around and headed back.  Only to encounter then next caravan.  I counted 33 this time.  All apologizing for the dust.  All commenting on my beautiful dog.

She has the patience of a saint.  By the third caravan, I was cursing the horses, the riders, the dusty trail, my decision to take her there...but she never lost that focus.

Man, if I could have just a quarter of that. 

The good news - Michelle Krys picked my SILO for the Christmas in July contest!  I'm one of the lucky 15 on her team that will go up on her site on Wednesday.  Ten agents will be looking at our entries and requesting (or not requesting).  So exciting!

But it's put my WIP on hold.  I can't concentrate on it.  I sit down with everything plotted out, but I find myself staring at the screen for an hour before I get distracted with laundry or cat boxes or cleaning out drawers.

I wish I could be like Lily - tune out all those horses and just focus in on my MC.

What about you - do you have trouble focusing sometimes?  Does anything help you regain your focus?