Lately I’ve pondered the circle of life quite a bit.

Facing changes, both professional and personal, has led to waves of emotions: new beginnings and goodbyes, mixing the familiarity of tradition with the uncertainty of the future, opportunities and challenges.

On Wednesday morning, Riley climbed into the truck for another visit to the veterinarian’s office, where additional testing would be completed to diagnose health problems.

The anxiety and helpless feeling of the previous 4 days left me trying to come to terms with the natural circles of life: life, death, joy, sadness, rebirth and reality. While inevitable, there’s a finality to all of it that is hard to accept.

Within a few hours, I felt a slight, if temporary, reprieve. The doctor’s call, after she reviewed some radiology scans, brought a small glimmer of hope as the the tests weren’t conclusive. For now, that means the veterinarian can’t confirm her diagnosis. It means I’ll wait for additional test results to determine whether anything can be done to help him.

By Wednesday evening, I had determined to break away for an 8-mile run in the rain. It gave me time to reflect on changes and the circle of life, and cherish the kind words of others who have sent me a note to wish Riley well in this time of uncertainty.

Similar to so many times in the past, this morning Riley and I headed out for a run, meeting our friend Tim along the way.

Without exception, when Riley sees Tim, he sprints up to him and gives a hearty greeting: rubbing up against him, growling enthusiastically, demanding to be petted. It’s been a sight I’ve always enjoyed because it’s obvious how excited my pooch is to see Tim. Once the pleasantries are done, we set off for our run – the three of us – and figure out the course along the way.

This day led us to Elephant Park, where Riley could enjoy the freedom of roaming, before we headed to a nearby neighborhood. After ducking behind a levee, we ran for a short while along the Red River on ground we had never explored. It was fitting, this run among friends, that we would discover a new place for our adventure  - a place where Riley could frolic carefree through the grass.

The downside, it appears, is these runs are likely to be shorter and less frequent, if the vet is correct. My canine running partner will slow down, and simply not be able to go on. During our runs, I’ll stop to give him the needed breaks so we can enjoy these last runs together.

Unlike so many previous blog posts, where I wrote about specific training concepts and workouts, most of what I have to say now is simply about a journey with Riley. We’ve experienced a lot together and packed in a lot of life in our adventures. Lately, life, work and changes have made it difficult to run the mileage that I once did, and I hope to return to those days again. For now, though, I plan to enjoy these outings with a faithful running partner, and I have several more to document with him.