It’s been quite some time since I posted and a lot has happened but instead of doing a “catch up” post, I wanted to share a Life Lesson with you. I’m sure many of you can relate so here goes.
Life Lessons: “Try”
In life, you hear people say over and over, “I can’t” do something. Usually people are quick to judge when a person says that and instantly starts telling them “You can”.
That’s fine, however, please keep in mind, you have no idea Why a person says they can’t. It could be something very simple like Afraid to Try or it could be something Traumatic happened to them previously and they just can’t bear the thought.
Regardless of their reasons, you should Respect it and not push them.
Personal Note
For over a year now, I have been wanting to Try and bring another dog into my home. For those who don’t know, I already have one dog, a rescue American Bulldog/Mastiff mix who is very dysfunctional. He’s insecure/afraid of new people. He’s uneasy around them and prefers to meet them on his own terms. He has a few other quirks but I won’t get into that now.
I have been volunteering at a local No-Kill Shelter. I spend time loving on the dogs, training, and socializing. It’s actually awesome to do but hard to leave them at the end of the day. I have gotten to know quite a few of the dogs very well and wanted to Try and bring one home, possibly with intent of fostering to adopt.
The opportunity arose and with the help of some other awesome volunteers, I took my boy down to the shelter for a meet and greet with a special lady dog. Despite the insecurity around people, my boy had no problem with the dog, as I suspected. People are his issue, not Dogs.
The next step was to plan for a “sleepover” in which the shelter dog could come home and spend the night with me and my family. To my surprise, my boy was very accepting of a another dog in his home………until the novelty wore off.
I know my boy better than anyone and knew that it could be a long haul of keeping another dog in my home and honestly, I just didn’t have the “fight” in me anymore. My boy and I have been through three (3) years of grueling rehabilitation and training and continue to this day to train as to not relapse. It can be a lot of work, but I don’t want CAN’T fail my boy.
So I took the dog back the next morning, crying of course and feeling as though I let everyone down including that poor dog, however, my #1 priority is and always will be the safety and welfare of #1 baby boy.
Lesson Learned
Ya see, I’ve been beating myself up for over a year for saying “I want to Try” and never do it. I kept wondering “What would happen if…”, but I never Tried.
I HAD to Try it to ease my mind and find my answer. Although some may think I didn’t Try long enough, no one knows the extent of what we’ve already been through nor how much more I can handle.
We Tried
and now we know.
I am happy we tried because I learned more about myself as well as about my baby boy. I don’t regret it at all because, as they say
What About You?
Have you said “You can’t” for whatever your reasons are and still never Tried?
What about saying “You can’t” and actually finding out, through Trying, that you could?
I’m all ears……………………
