Today is trash day and there’s a rug folded up in the trash bin that has been with me since I lived in Florida some 30 years ago. I really didn’t see that coming.

I find it highly amusing when a minor catastrophe can refine your life for the better. Last week, both dogs had diarrhea, but not at the same time. It started with Denver, but he’s a male, so he just wanted to be let outside every hour and even chose to sleep outside the first night. When Winnie girl caught it, she politely relieved herself in the middle of the night on the rug. The next morning, I tried to clean it from the rug, but it had soaked in, so I knew this rug was leaving.

I took it outside and laid it over the top of one of the fences and let it rain on the rug all week with hope that maybe that would help wash away the foul smell, but it didn’t. The dogs were so confused with this rug being outside. It’s where they ate their treats and every so often, Denver would nap on the rug. It had been a part of their everyday lives from the very beginning, but suddenly the dog area of the house was rug less.

My tastes have evolved and last year I purchased a durable runner for the back door in a neutral tone. Something that would handle dog traffic and clean up easily and I loved the look of the runner, even though it clashed with the 30-year old rug laying nearby.

I left the floor bare all week, but the dogs had no idea how to eat their treats on the hardwood floor, so I laid a towel down and that helped temporarily. My gaze fell upon my meditation area in the next room where a circular rug has laid for years. It’s made from woven jute, so it’s pretty much indestructible. I pulled it into the dog area and was pleasantly surprised to see it complimented the back door runner nicely!

When we reach a certain age we’ll realize we have everything we’ll probably ever need, so I take a long pause before making a new purchase. I had no idea I already had a rug to replace the one that was trashed, until life happened. When catastrophe strikes, give it time to run it’s course. Something good will come from it in the long run.