Last week I heard of an acquaintance of mine in dog rescue who had passed away... She and I were the 'oddballs' in the group because we both were crafty-type people and consistently were using our talents and hands to come up with new things and ways of fund-raising to help save the dogs from dying in the shelters...
Paula's talent was extreme in that she'd found the money, time and patience to purchase an embroidery machine... Not the hand-held ones, but the full mulligan version which sits in its own table, requires computer software and special threads, etc... She did some absolutely BEAUTIFUL work with that machine - I have a towel hanger on my oven door handle on which she embroidered a full view Chihuahua and it made me tear up when she presented it to me...
Paula was an intensely passionate dog rescuer and she too specialized in one breed (Keeshonds)... Amazingly quick-witted and always thinking, it was a major tragedy that she contract Mad Cow's Disease and this was the cause of her death... There's a memorial service this Sunday for her at their home and her husband, Jack, has barely managed to make it through this horrible period in his life, for Paula's passing has left a tremendous hole in his life and their two little Keeshonds... sigh...
Sometimes you never know what you've got until it is gone, ya know?... We tend to take people for granted who 'embroider' our life with their charm, good humor and give us a reason to live, prosper and be fruitful...
Which brings me to another thought... Most of you all are also subscribers to Julia's list (CraftE1Ldy@aol.com)... They discovered a small brain tumor during a fall she had while out here in California, visiting with her family recently... For those that hadn't heard about this, you probably have missed her mailings in your email box recently - this is why...
Let's send some positive wishes and warm thoughts that it can be surgically removed without harm and Julia can make a fast and speedy recovery from it...
Again, until life gives you bumps in the road, you never appreciate how smooth the ride is... I think about this a lot myself... And try to remind myself even on the bad days that it could be MUCH worse... The other day Paul said he knew I was in pain because of the frequent sighs... And I wondered about that for quite some time, because I go out of my way to not be a whiner and complainer...
Yesterday, Desiree gave me the clue that allowed me to put the pieces together about this, asking me why I was sighing, so I knew she'd been the one to notice it - I just couldn't imagine Paul REALLY noticed the number of sighs I did, nor the frequency! I mean - he is a retired detective, but ask him dialogue from old movies and he can quote it, scripture and verse... Ask him trivial things or that you need him to fix something, and it is in one ear and out the other most of the time!... Sighs?... LOL... That's at the bottom of almost everybody's list of things we notice...
And it's not really a sigh either - it's more of holding myself and my body until the sharp pain passes, so I guess I tend to not breathe while I'm doing this and then when the pain is bearable, I breath again? Everyone's tragedies and health issues are SO much greater than mine - even my own family's - that I hate to complain about my aches and pains, ya know?...
When I find myself sliding downwards and complaining a lot, I pull out that purple bracelet and force myself to wear it (it does make my wrist sweat, so that's a fact and not a complaint!)... A few of us got these a few years ago, so if you're a newbie to the Press, you might have missed it... There is a website for the movement and if you read through the faqs, you will see you have to move the bracelet to the other wrist when you catch yourself gossiping or complaining about something, then start all over again for it is believed it takes 21 days to change bad habits...
I'm not sure if I ever will totally make this happen, but if nothing else, it does remind me or make me mentally aware of complaining about things... I guess the real crux of it is that you replace complaints with positive things you see, want to do, make happen, etc. instead of focusing on the negative...
And I think for the most part, I do this... I know I do it with the dogs... Without a doubt, there are times I must say "QUIET" at least 100 times a day some days... I know tomorrow I will probably say it 101 times, and maybe the next day 102 times... But if I keep with it, respond in a consistent tone and not lose my patience, eventually the number of times I have to say it will start decreasing to replace a yappy Chihuahua with a great one... Saying it with a frustrated tone does nothing at all but increase the number of times you're going to say it...
We have a dog baiter here right now... Kelly has had her upper and lower canines surgically removed so that she could inflict no harm to a dog they were baiting with her... Initially she could not eat nicely with any of the other dogs - there are times she still gets antsy and I have to separate her, so I usually judge her mood before meal times... A few weeks after her arrival here and her coat had grown back in (she'd lost half of it, plus had spent 6 weeks in isolation at the shelter), I noticed a change in Kelly... Once she realized she no longer had to fight for her food, she almost went into a chaotic state of mind... From one extreme of behaviors to the opposite extreme, and I spent a LOT of time correcting the behavior...
You almost have to anticipate it in advance... I can't explain it correctly, but it is signs you know it is coming and you don't always catch it... The first few adoptions I took her to were stressful, for she'd do nothing else but bark, bark, bark... Big dogs passing by would immediately set her off (and I have seen her lose her bowels when in the presence of pitbulls too)... Negative behaviors by her would get our attention, and it dawned on me one day that our responses were actually encouraging her instead of what it should be doing... DUH~!!!
Sometimes I need a pile of mental bricks to hit me in the head before I get something... I know I know it, but I need that visual impact to break through the daily rote and routine of my thoughts!... Since then, I have been making a major effort to acknowledge Kelly when she's quiet and this is really positive reinforcement training (yes, I know about it and subscribe to it faithfully, but it took this extreme demonstration to remind me of what I already know!!! LOL)...
As I look over now, Kelly is sleeping in a doggie bed - YES, with two other dogs, butt to head and side to side... Even the hair on the back of her ears has grown back in and she's put back on the weight she'd lost through her stint in the shelter... There are times she slips (don't we all), but for the most part, she is now a well-mannered Chihuahua that is attentive (she favors Paul over me), has canine manners and I hope soon will find her own furever home...
Sometimes we forget to see the small improvements in our lives along the way and do concentrate on only the bad things that happen or are a part of our lives... It is a challenge every day for me to re-set myself mentally and do this... But I know if I fail today, tomorrow I can start again... And (LOL), if I have to switch over that purple bracelet today, God be willing, he'll give me another 21 days to correct the error of my ways!
As Always,
The Lady
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2 comments:
I prefer reading The Press online because sometimes I have to scroll left to right to read it and THAT is a pain.
This is good. I like it.
Just send out notices when you've blogged!
I think (?) you can list yourself as a follower and the notices are automatically generated... Not sure 100% about this, but that's how it is supposed to work.
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