Team Atlas participated in a Nose Work 3 trail in Tucson yesterday. It was a well run trial (although I didn’t care of the Christian rock playing in one of the rooms where they held us.)

We false alerted on our first two elements (interiors and containers). We’ve been having some trouble with containers recently–it’s strange how things change and we don’t know why. And, we’re usually great on interiors, so I was a bit crushed after those two runs. 

What I did find interesting about our interior searches was that the second room was blank (there was no odor present). My boy atlas worked really hard in that room, his breathing changed dramatically, and we really searched in a way I’ve never seen him work before. It was cool to watch (and hear).  And, I was correct in calling my finish.

The afternoon searches produced ribbons for us. We placed 2nd in both our Vehicle Search and our Exterior search. And, we earned our NW3-V Vehicle search ribbon (which means we’ve successfully completed that element three times during NW3 trials. We just keep going back again and again.

So, when we do well, we gain ribbons. When we don’t, I feel crushed and heartbroken. I’m just not very good at handling failure. The thing is, there were only five titles awarded at the trial yesterday. Five. That’s it. So, I was in very good company (29 other teams didn’t title and most of them didn’t receive any ribbons, either.) Intellectually, I get that, but emotionally, boy it’s hard. 

In those difficult moments, I think, “I’m done. I quit.” And, then, I lick my wounds and move on. It’s what has to be done.

While I was “suffering” yesterday between the morning runs and the afternoon, I saw a meme on Instagram that said: “Will this matter in 5 years? If not, don’t spend more than 5 minutes on it.” It was the perfect sentiment in the perfect moment. Thank you universe.

Our next trial is the last weekend in December. We’ll see what happens.