Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Author Archives: dawnkinster


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I’ve been busy!

Hi there, it’s me, Penny!

Boy I bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been! I know I’m probably the most important concern on your minds all the time, and in the interest of getting you to relax, I’ll bring you up to date on my adventures.

Me in my chariot.

There have been plenty.

Since it’s the holiday season I guess I should start out with my walk a week or so ago. I got to go to a park with my friend Whisky and his mom. (And my mom came too.) There were Christmas lights everywhere!

My friend Whisky-Roo and his mom.

There were lots of people and their dogs walking around and I was a pretty good girl about not barking at stuff. Even when people came out of the dark and startled me.

Sometimes I get worried that Mom isn’t paying attention to all the people walking by when she’s taking pictures.

Mom said it was pretty hard to get pictures of me looking at her cause there was so much other stuff for me to look at!

We spend way too much time sitting in front of stuff when we should be walking, Mom!

Then this week mom took me to Davis Lake Overlook Park, which is near my house. I’ve only been there one time before, and that time we walked in a different part of the park.

I think we should go down the yellow trail, Mom.

So on this walk everything was new to me. Boy I had fun sniffing. I’d go from one side of the trail to the other, nose always to the ground.

I feel like I’m wearing camouflage, Mom! I blend right in!

Mom said I did very good not being scared of being in the woods. When I was a little girl the big trees kinda scared me, but I’m a big girl now, and a lot braver.

Mom asks me to sit in front of stuff all the time. I think she needs to have an intervention.

Then guess what? My Uncle P. came to visit us! It was his first visit since I moved in. He’s so much fun! I liked him right away. A couple days ago he and Mom took me back to Davis Lake Overlook and we walked on a completely different trail there. 

My Uncle Paul. 

Part of it even Mom had never been on before! Mom says she might rename this park Penny’s Park. I think that’s an excellent idea.

I stay very focused on mom. When she says “OK!” I’m going in for my treat, yes sirree!

Mom says she’s still thinking about it. She says change is hard.

I think this is an excellent park and should definitely be named for me.

Anyway, we had a great walk even though it was foggy and cold. I didn’t mind that a bit of course. 

I gave her my best pose down by this little pond. It’s my Christmas present to her.

I loved walking with Mom and Uncle P. They thought they’d be wearing me out so I’d be calmer when we got home. But the joke was on them - I wanted to play, play, PLAY when we got back. 

They, on the other hand, needed a nap.

Never underestimate a Penny.

Silly people. They should know by now you can’t wear an Unstoppable Pretty Penny out!

Hee, hee.

Well, I might have taken a LITTLE nap.

Talk later, it’s time for me to go open my Christmas present, your Unstoppable Girl, Penny.


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Remembering

Nineteen years ago today my family suffered an unimaginable loss when our dad was killed by a sleepy semi driver while driving to the airport.

It seems like yesterday. It seems like a hundred years ago.

Today we remember and grieve, like we have every day, every year, since December 23, 2004.


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Holiday music is everywhere

My mom used to say she wished the radio stations continued to play Christmas music after Christmas day. Back then you had to be in the same room as the radio in order to hear and she didn’t have time to listen before Christmas morning. She had four kids to shop and wrap for and a big holiday dinner to prepare. 

She didn’t have time to enjoy the season until it was over.

The Clarkston Community Band, pictures from the audience perspective taken by my husband.

I wish she could have attended the concert our Clarkston Community Band played last Friday evening. Pretty lights and lush music shaped our theme of “Let there be Peace.” 

“Bugler’s’Holiday by Leroy Anderson

I don’t think there’s a better way to get in the spirit of the season than to go to a live concert, right in your own community, performed by your friends and neighbors. The musicians might not be professionals (though sometimes they are) and the performance might not be perfect (though sometimes it is) but the spirit is real and the motivation is pure.

Friday night songs like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, “White Christmas” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas” got us all into the right mood. When the audience sang along on a medley of Christmas carols I had to stop playing for a moment and just listen to all those voices joined together. 

Pure magic.

Santa waits in the wings

Yep, Friday night we filled that auditorium with love. Toward the end of the show lots of children came up on stage to ring jingle bells as we played “Here Comes Santa Claus” in the hope they could convince Santa to stop in for a visit.  These kids were very convincing, and Santa showed up right on cue. Their faces, when they realized he was standing right behind them, were priceless. 

More magic.

Excitement builds as they hope for the big guy to arrive.

And then Santa conducted our last piece of music, “Sleigh Ride,” because it’ can’t be a holiday concert without a ride through the snow behind prancing horses, even if it’s all only in our imaginations. 

A perfect ending to a perfect evening.

Friday night we all came together for a moment of celebration and peace, even knowing the world is filled with unrest. We all left that night smiling and you can too. This season, check your local high school’s web page. There’s likely a holiday concert or two near you this very week. Please take time from your preparations to support those musicians. They’d love to see a full house and you’ll be glad you went.

I guarantee there will be magic bouncing off those walls.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Penny and I wish you all a peaceful holiday!


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Happy 1st birthday to…..ME!

Hey everybody! It’s me, your birthday girl, Penny! I bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, huh?

Keeping track of my birds and squirrels this morning.

Well, mom has been hogging the laptop so I haven’t been able to get on here since my Walktober, and here it is already December! AND it’s my very first birthday!!

Visiting Katie’s park yesterday.

I woke mom up early this morning because I was pretty excited. I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to be excited about, but I’m excited. OK. So maybe excited is my normal every single day frame of mind. But still, it’s my birthday!!

“Mom! Is it time to start my birthday yet??”

And look! Mom and Dad got me presents! Dad got me the really cool snake and boy do I like to pounce on it. I pounced on Dad a few times too, just to say thank you. I think he appreciates it almost more than me eating his ankles when he walks by.

I got birthday presents!

Mom got me the pretty purple game! She borrowed one like it from a friend and I loved it, so she bought me one of my very own.

“Stand back, mom, I’ve got this!”

And look! It appears someone stole my likeness to put on the box! Don’t you think that looks like me on there? I think I should get royalties! Or snacks. Maybe just snacks, snacks are good, I don’t even know what royalties are.

“Doesn’t that look just like me?”

Yesterday, to celebrate my upcoming birthday, Mom took me for a walk at my angle sister Katie’s park. The sun was going down and it was cold! Perfect!

“I sit for treats, Mom!”

I give Mom credit, she only said hurry up about a dozen times. I was pretty busy sniffing stuff you know, and she didn’t bring gloves. I told her that was not my problem. But I did sit pretty for her. Many of the pictures in this post are from our walk yesterday.

“You’re gonna need to speed this up, mom, the sun is going down!”

Anyway, today I am 1 year old! Man, what a year, right? From arriving at my forever home in February to going to school and earning my Canine Good Citizen title, to going to the park yesterday, it’s all been marvelous!

Mom and Dad are very proud of me. As they should be.

And it’s so special that I get to see my Mama S, my breeder ,regularly too. I just love Mama S. Why last time I was at her house I learned a new trick! I can now turn off her DVD player! She says I am a little stinker, but I know she’s proud of how smart I am.

“Mama S took this picture of me a couple weeks ago. Mom says I look entitled. Mama S says I AM entitled.

Well, I’ve sure been glad to talk to all of you, but it’s time for my birthday nap now. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I’ll try to get on more often when Mom’s not looking!

A nap is in order for our birthday girl.

Bye for now,

Your 1 year old Unstoppable Pretty Penny.


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Progress

Today is Giving Tuesday. Go to Facebook and donate to your favorite charity.

Trust me, the staff and volunteers will appreciate it! Every dollar counts!

In my own fundraising campaign we’re making progress. I’m over $800 of my $1500 goal. I’m so thankful for every dollar and every person who donates. I’m also appreciative of every one of you that sends me virtual (and real) hugs and warm thoughts and comforting messages.

Never think you don’t make a difference. You all do.


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Dad and his little sister Becky

I have a few images from dad’s childhood. He was six years older than his little sister, my Aunt Becky.

My dad and his baby sister.

She loved her big brother so much, when he was killed by a tired semitruck driver December 23, 2004, she was heartbroken. They are together in heaven now, I imagine it was a pretty special reunion.

Hanging out in Ann Arbor MI.

This coming Tuesday is Giving Tuesday. I hope you will consider giving to the nonprofit I’ll be highlighting, CRASH (Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways) which is a partner with P.A.T.T (Parents Against Tired Truckers) to form the Truck Safety Coalition.

One of my favorite images of the two of them.

We provide support to families of those lost in semi crashes, and to those who have survived crashes too. Every year there are more heartbroken families.

He loved being on the water.

And we work hard at changing regulations, rules and laws in order to protect everyone on the road. But the crash statistics are going up, more than 5,000 dead, almost 150,000 injured in 2021, the last year for which we have numbers.

And he loved all kinds of boats.

So we can’t give up, can’t even slow down now. Please consider helping us on our mission to provide comfort, to make a place for families to put their grief, and to make our roads safer for everyone, truck drivers included.

Wading in Charlevoix Bay.

Thank you for the years of support you’ve already given me.


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Thanksgiving memories

Shutterfly just popped up in my Facebook feed with photos from 11 years ago.

My aunt and I were in Alabama with my siblings for Thanksgiving. It doesn’t seem like it was eleven years. And look, we were all so much younger then.

This year is our second Thanksgiving without her, and this year my husband and I didn’t make it south. But we’ll get down there eventually.

Guaranteed.

Meanwhile, we hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving, even though sometimes change is hard.