Do Unto Others

When you're going through a personal crisis, it is easy to get so absorbed in your own pain and needs that nothing matters except managing your own "stuff."  That is normal.  It is even healthy.  Putting our energies into managing our own issues is a sign of maturity.

There should come a time, however, when healing has progressed to a place where you can not only recognize the crises others are facing but also lend a helping hand.

My opportunity to do that came a week before Christmas when a farmer I know called me and said, "We're going to lose our farm to a railroad!"

For the preceding year, the only "cause" I had the emotional, physical, and spiritual energy for was getting my kids and myself through our divorce and its fallout.  And it took all I had.  Some days it still does.

But when I heard those words over my phone, I felt a flame rise up within me.  This was a battle I had to help win in whatever small way I could.

Why this one?

It could be the fact that I have lived my life in the shadow of a farm taken by eminent domain "for the public good."  It could be because my first paying writing job was covering a farmer who also lost his farm by eminent domain so it could become a parking lot for his neighbor's significantly larger business.

It could be because I know at least two other farmers in Rhode Island who have either lost land through eminent domain or through unethical government business practices.

It could be I have finally had enough.

It could be the time was just right.

I don't know.  But in the past weeks I have written letters, posted articles, called government leaders, and spoken on radio calling for our state to prevent this railroad from going through.  I have read good portions of the NEC Tier 1 EIS and discovered that I no longer oppose this project just for my friends' sake . . .  I oppose it because it's just a plain old bad idea for our state.

Through this process, however, something else happened.  I found myself re-energized.  I rediscovered a clarity of thought and purpose that has been elusive in recent months.  I saw the sun shining through the clouds, promising that better things were on the way.

I remembered how good it felt to do something for someone else for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. 

Look for your own opportunity to "Do Unto Others" . . . it's good for you!

(By the way, you can find out more about the railroad plan on my LinkedIn and Facebook pages or by visiting the Charlestown Citizens' Alliance webpage!)  

Going to the Dogs

Before my kids were born, I had dogs.  I grew up with German Shepherds . . . and one little dopey beagle.  When I moved out on my own, I adopted a Sheltie who became my constant companion and best bud.  Six months into my marriage, we adopted an Australian Shepherd puppy.  A year later we adopted a Newfoundland cross. 

When my marriage ended, I kept the kids and the dogs. 

As much as I love my dogs, I have to admit there are times when they are an awful lot of work.  Today was such a day. 

I was helping Ranita "excavate" a Tyrannosaurus head on our kitchen table when I suspected he had had an accident.  Nope.  It was our Aussie.  Disgustingness all over my kitchen floor. 

I wondered what was going on, but didn't wonder too hard.  I mopped the floor.  I cleaned her.  I went on playing paleontologist. 

Several more times throughout the day, the scene was repeated, including the moments immediately before the new President took his oath of office. 

By 4pm, I was getting worried.  She was looking lethargic and was obviously feeling punk.  In the back of my mind was the fear that she had eaten parts of the dinosaur dig and was being poisoned.  (The comment on the label regarding "formaldehyde Phase 2" didn't alleviate my concerns any.) 

My vet was closed for the day.  I called the expensive emergency animal hospital, hoping they'd tell me to wait it out.  They told me to call Poison Control. 

For a fee of $65 Poison Control told me I should immediately get my dog to a vet. 

Ugh.  With all the upheaval of the past year, there isn't a lot of extra cash for discretionary vet bills. 

In fact, last month we were stringing popcorn and cranberries for the Christmas tree when we found one of the strands missing . . . with the needle still attached!  That call to the expensive animal hospital gave me a minimum quote of $1,500 by the time they got through with x-rays, exams, and scoping.  Add another grand if they had to do surgery. 

In another lifetime, I would have spent the money.  This time I asked the vet for home remedies.  He said to feed them bread.  Each dog got an English muffin.  We prayed . . . hard.  I watched them like a hawk for signs of sepsis.  They were fine.  Praise God!

I asked for home remedies today.  No such luck.  If it was poisoning, home remedies wouldn't do it. 

Our dogs don't get separated often, so the Newfie was frantic at being left behind.  I crated her, knowing my house would not be the same if I didn't.  The kids and I went to another neighborhood vet we had been to once before. 

Aussie messed on the floor the second we walked in the door.  In the exam room, she threw up . . . on my son's sneaker.  The personnel were amazing, though.  My kids watched the dog get a mini-bath in the back room, patted the feline mascot Arlo, and checked out a Dachshund curled up in a crate.  They also left with fish-shaped face cloths.  Good day for the kids!

It ended up being a pretty good day for Mommy, too.  The dog was suffering from something she ate, but it was nothing some probiotics and antibiotics wouldn't cure.  The bill was significantly less than the animal hospital would have been.  The vet even gave me a prescription for amoxicillin and a discount coupon to boot. 

That did lead to me having to set up a CVS account for my DOG, which was very weird. 

Pharmacist: "Is there a chance your dog is pregnant?"
Me:  "Really?  Nobody ever asks me if I'm pregnant before filling a prescription!" 

It really is a dog's life, Charlie Brown!