365 Days of Gratitude: when things go horribly wrong.

While we were off gallivanting in paradise, our cat Beta hung out at his (former) sitter’s. Late Friday night, he apparently had troubles with a recliner and the sitter’s fiancé? (They did not provide clear details.)

When we got back in the afternoon yesterday and picked Beta up along with his emergency vet papers, I soon read that amputation was “strongly recommended” as the “large open wound” provided a view to “visible bone fracture” and this degree of injury “will not heal on its own.” My heart broke realizing that when they opted to take Beta home, the vet advised against doing so as it put Beta at risk for “developing infection or sepsis”. She even urged them to consider his “pain level” and “quality of life”.

Meanwhile, the sitters insisted to the emergency vet that we (the owners) wished to take Beta to his regular vet for amputation on Monday upon returning from vacation. They told the vet (who kindly offered to speak with us) we were unreachable. They then turned around and told us the tail is fully bandaged and Beta was acting fine. Meanwhile the vet papers actually said tails are difficult to bandage and that in his case, simply returning home for monitoring was not ideal because the tissue was too far “devitalized”. It would rot as it sat attached to his body held by a bandage.

So, Beta went back to the emergency vet last night. They scheduled him for surgery today, and he was home with me by mid-afternoon. I’m grateful Beta was a good candidate for surgery despite his age. I’m grateful for his wonderful baseline health. While I’m hurt his sitters turned out to be undependable in a true emergency (whether due to incompetence or maliciousness), I’m grateful all he lost was a part of his tail due to their negligence.

I’m supremely grateful there is a 24-hour fully equipped emergency pet hospital 10 minutes from our home. I’m grateful for the caring staff, every single one of whom really went above and beyond. With time, I’m sure I’ll even grow to be a fan of Beta’s new nub!

It just looks wonky right now, he’ll grow into it

365 Days of Gratitude: Outdoor Shower

Okay so when I heard we had outdoor showers at the villa and saw this, I was suitably impressed.

I thought they meant this guy
But they actually meant this!

Most of the rooms here have this indoor/outdoor setup, and it’s the most comfortable shower I’ve ever used. I don’t know if it’s the ample sunlight or the fresh air but it feels amazing to step into one of these. Truly an unparalleled experience. I’m going to miss Anguilla a lot!

365 Days of Gratitude: switching gears

I know, I was having second thoughts, and then promptly stopped updating, ha! I decided that laying in bed at night, dawdling on my phone, trying to sound like a blog post until I either finished or fell asleep, was not a good use of my time. So I switched over to what I’m calling a “3 minute journal.” Right now I spend one minute writing down: 1) what I’m grateful for, 2) what to affirm, and 3) what to improve. The point of affirmation is to examine my intentions and reaffirm positive ones. I’ve been with this format for the last few days, and I think I’ll change the affirmation to something more goal/task oriented.

my setup for the past few days, you can see here that under things to improve I need to finish tasks that I start that day and not watch so much YouTube

While I value introspection regarding one’s own intentions, I think that I’ll benefit more from setting down a few things to tackle for the next day. I already journal by keeping a “have done” list daily. It’s something I’ve done for years. I find that it motivates me to get more things done so I can add them to my list of accomplished tasks. I prefer it to a “to do” list that can sometimes feel daunting and insurmountable and cause procrastination for me. That said, I suspect jotting down one or two things for the next day can help orient each day.

 

So that’s where I’m at, onward then!

365 Days of Gratitude: Day 12, having second thoughts.

One thing I struggle with writing here in general, but that has now been highlighted for me as I’m writing everyday, is staying in the tone of as if I’m speaking out loud. I don’t talk much, and it does not come naturally.

That discomfort creates a barrier to the exercise of finding some little thing to have gratitude for everyday. It makes it less likely I’ll succeed. A part of me thinks I have made a mistake in selecting a vehicle for the exercise. If the “out loud” part feels forced and inauthentic, then it’s the wrong fit for the objective? Wouldn’t ‘365 days of gratitude’ be better practiced in meditation or private journaling?

I don’t have an answer, but I don’t have to have one. Today my cat pooped in his carrier on the way home from New York. I spent the morning washing him and his carrier. But I’m grateful he has never done this before in his 14 1/2 years. It’s all about perspective!

And he bleps