Just for a moment, and then hopefully re-energized, get back to business with a heart slightly less burdened than it was before the handful of seconds that you spent reading/watching this.
Be surprised, be honored, be repulsed. This is one of 5 pictures of me on the entire internetz.
Just having a moment of introspection of the good with the bad dealing with this giant dog's intestinal distress. Before this pup came into our life, he had been hit by a vehicle at least 3 times, spent most of his life outside and alone. The outside part did not bother him, but Angus is an extremely social animal who desired being part of a family more than anything I could imagine.
Well, the other day, he got into something that he should not have and suffered some incontinence (to put it mildly). My wife and I are used to one of our older dog's inadvertent pooping/peeing and simply deal with it, but this episode with the St.Bernard was epic. And eventually made me happy.
Happy, you ask? Not at first, but several pairs of nitrile gloves, a couple of pints of Nature's Miracle, and about 49 cubic feet of Fabreeze later, my horror gave way to my love and appreciation of having this giant, gentle beast who came to our family in need and my gratitude that we were able to extend and provide for his needs. And that I guess, is why I am happy.
If we didn't have Angus, we wouldn't have to clean up his explosive diarrhea. My happiness of the 99.99999% of the other non-poopy cleaning up time far outweighs the other times, and for coming to terms with that, the good times I should dwell upon rather than focusing on the bad - I am grateful for the poopy puppy.
Its after midnight, I feel ok about dropping this diary now (and I'm not under any illusions that any more than 5 people will rec the jar). This is purely a selfish endeavor, but I hope there's something in here (especially in the comments) that someone can find uplifting.
First of all:
Now, when the night is darkest, you're able to see things that have been hidden from view.
My life revolves around caring for and making my family (both 2 and 4 legged) and all that I interact with, lives a little bit better. In other words, I try to go out of my way not to be the asshole I want to default to.
I don't view it as sucking it up and taking it in a painful manner. I just try to hate the sin and love tolerate the sinner. Not to dwell on all manner of petty injustices or truly egregious instances of malfeasance.
Not to be Pollyanna, or la-te-da. Someone screws you over, or you're exposed to a gross inequity, you're entitled to be angry. It's the intensity and duration of that that matters. Sure I was pissed that I had to clean up after a dog, but that sometimes happens and I'm working on not focusing on the bad.
Is it right that your car keeps breaking down, a relative is seasonally suicidal, a family member is very ill requiring constant care, your hot water heater falls through the floor, your heat stops working on the coldest day of the year, your internet connection is being trollish, a physical ailment defies all rational treatment? No. No it's not right, but as we all know and acknowledge - that is life. And we sometimes need to step back (even for a moment) and reaffirm what we're fighting for.
There is beauty in justice, true, but for a moment, what non political thing that gives you strength in the darkest hour?