Smiles even in the darkest of times

I'm sorry for my blog hiatus. I had several difficult situations going on in my life recently. Even through my dark times, while I did not outwardly smile, many people still made my heart a little lighter during it all.

In May of 2014, I rescued an abused dog, Axle, that was unable to be adopted. Over this past year, I have worked extensively to rehab this dog to free him from his anxiety. I spent thousands of dollars on behavior modification training, ran him on a treadmill every day, gave him mentally stimulating toys and feeders, and eventually put him on anti anxiety medication. After a recent bite to the neighbor's ankle and an attack on one of the other dogs in my home, I had to concede that my efforts were simply not enough to rid him of his demons. Struggling with such intense anxiety was affecting his quality of life. He was constantly panting, incessantly licking, and unable to sit still for more than two minutes at a time. I had to make the very difficult decision to humanely euthanize him. While this was one of the worst experiences of my life, there were so many supportive people to help me get through this. Here are some smile-worthy kindness that shined through the darkness in my life:

-My older sister called everyday to give me support and encouragement
-A friend allowed me to take Axle in her fenced in yard the morning of the appointment to allow him to run free
-My twin sister helped me make paw prints. After my dog was gone, she gave me a very nice card and a gift from Axle. She and my mom were also there to hug me when I was crying inconsolably following the appointment
-The veterinarian made the experience as easy as possible for me. She gave me many hugs and words of comfort. The vet also made a collage of pictures of him for me to take home
-Many of my friends and family sent me messages and texts of support
-My mom came over to drive me to the vet. She also went into the room with me. It meant a lot to not have to go through it alone.
-Many of you know that I work in home care for a little girl with several medical needs. The day after putting Axle down, the family took me on a surprise trip to the zoo during my shift.

While the situation was still a very painful experience, knowing that so many people cared enough to help me get through it, made it a little more bearable.

Dogs Saved 2-4 Lives

My dogs participate in a blood donation program. Every 8 weeks I take my pups to IndyVet to donate their blood and each donation saves 2-4 animals. I definitely think this makes people smile when their pet is saved because of blood donors like Jenson and Massa.

A nice gentleman made me smile today. When he saw that I was waiting in line with a 40 lb bag of dog food on my shoulder, he offered to let me go in front of him.

When I got my nails done today, my manicurist had new pictures up of his wedding. His wife is absolutely GORGEOUS. I tell him this every time I am there and today he said that I make his day every time I say it. He also made me smile when he gave me a little souvenir from Vietnam (he recently went there).

I have no clue what it is but it made me smile to know that he thought of bringing something back for his favorite clients.

 

 

Who did you make smile today?

Volunteering and Coworkers

I hope everyone had a great Wednesday!

My dad made me smile today. He sent me a link with information about The Yellow Dog project (www.theyellowdogproject.com) Having a "yellow dog" myself, I was excited to see this global effort to educate society on dogs that need space. It is a productive way to keep the public and fearful/anxious/painful dogs safe. I will be applying to volunteer as an area representative to help this global initiative.

I also had a chance to catch up with some old coworkers at dinner tonight. It's great to have friends that are still willing to keep in touch after your careers have taken you down different paths.

Who did you make smile today?

A Simple Thank You

Happy Tuesday!

I seriously have the greatest job. There is not a day that goes by that the little girl I care for doesn't make me smile. She made me smile big time today. As I was leaving, she thanked me for going to school with her. She is the sweetest 3 year old on the planet. Lately I have been experiencing care giver fatigue so this was something I definitely needed to boost my spirits! Again, don't forget to tell people you appreciate them. It makes a huge difference.

Who did you make smile today?

Sometimes life knocks you down...

I'm sorry for my lack of posts lately. Sometimes life knocks you down and it takes a while a to pick yourself back up. I have been experiencing some difficult situations in my life  and the wind was temporarily taken out of my sails. It was very hard to find the motivation to keep others smiling when I felt like there was not much to smile about myself. I am trying to get back on track. The world can be a tough place that hardens our hearts and I refuse to give in to it. Here are some things that made me or others smile in the couple weeks since my last post:

-My sister and I drove over an hour to support our friend as he performed in his first play

-My sister drove back from her trip early to come watch me race.  She even drove 85 mph and made it JUST in time for the green flag!
-My sister even made this and posted it on facebook with the caption "2nd in the rain today! I'm a proud sister!!"

It made me smile, it made me feel loved, and it boosted my spirits after a rough couple days

-A friend of mine was honored by a past student for being a teacher that has made an impact on her life.
-After James Hinchcliffe suffered a life threatening injury in a practice session for the Indy 500, there was an outpouring of love and support from his fans. Also, his parents called all the safety crew and first responders together and personally thanked them for saving their sons life

-My dad and I cleaned the floor and bathroom at my grandmas house because it's hard for her to get around
-When I was going through my difficult situations, I had a ton of support from friends and family
-A friend took me out to dinner

I know there are probably several more examples! Who did you makes smile today?

Blast from the Past

Life has been crazy busy so I have missed several days but I will write about them all. First, I'd like to start with today's smile because it really meant a lot to me. As a nurse, you sacrifice a lot in order to care for your patients. Many times you go without lunch, you work well past the end of your shift, you miss holidays with your family, and exhaust yourself on a daily basis to make sure your patients get the care they need. It is not often that you are thanked for the care you have provided.... even less often that you are remembered and thanked six years later. When I worked on an adult med-surge unit, I had the privilege to care for an amazing man. There are always patients that you just "click" with and he was one of them. He definitely made an impression on me and I learned today that I also made an impact on him. Here are a couple comments I received from him today:

Tracy it's been 7 years (4/1) since you took care of me! What an impact you've made on my life!!

You are awesome! You cared for me off and on for 9 days! Kept me positive, and kept me motivated, oh yea and pain free! I'm friends with one of the other nurses too but I don't see her on here much anymore! Can't think of her name! Young African American girl! you were so amazing with my family too! I will never forget you're smile!! Brightened the entire room! Love you always!

Words can't even express what this means to me. It definitely makes me feel as though I am fulfilling what God has put me on this earth to do! Any time I feel under appreciated, I will have to look at this and remember that even though it doesn't seem like my efforts are recognized, they make more of an impact than I will ever know. HUGE smile for me today... probably the whole week!!

Saturday smiles:
My grandmother invited me over to her house for the indycar race and dinner.

Sunday Funday:
I saw many people pay tribute to their mothers. I saw pictures and words of praise on facebook posts, I saw shoppers buying gifts, and families taking their mothers out for lunch. I made my mom a picture frame which she really enjoyed. My aunt and uncle brought over a mothers day lunch for the entire family.

Monday:
A man at the gym liked my shirt and we shared a smile. I picked up some apples at the grocery store for my sister because she forgot them when she went shopping the previous day. When I was checking out, a woman let someone with only one item go in front of her in line because she had a lot of groceries and knew she would hold him up.

Who did you make smile today?

Happy Friday!

Thursday:
Here are a few memes people posted on my facebook yesterday that made me smile

 

 

Friday:



Today has been a good day so far. I smiled when I got my nails done because my favorite guy was back from his month long trip to Vietnam to marry his fiancé. I hope he smiled in return because he showed me pictures and they were absolutely stunning. His bride is also incredibly beautiful. So of course I told him all of these things. I also told him how happy I was he was FINALLY back! I gave him a higher tip than usual as well. He made me smile by telling me I've done a great job with Axle and that I'm "too nice" because I won't give up on him. He added that I've probably saved his life. This comment really felt good to hear because I often wonder if all the work I've put into this dog is worth it. It takes two hours of my evening to tend to my dogs. When I get home from work,  my two well-behaved dogs get a two mile walk. I feed them and administer both of their allergy medications. Then it is Axles turn. He is so wound up that I have to run him a mile on the tread mill first thing. Then we run outside for anywhere between 2 and 4 miles depending on time. I have to give him his anxiety meds and then feed him through as slow feeder to help slow his mind down.  It's usually after 8 by the time I can shower and actually feed myself. Sometimes I wish a stay-at-home dog mom was an option! lol After hearing Anthony say I've probably saved Axles life, I know he is right. It is absolutely worth the work to know that being with me is the best chance this dog has at a good quality of life. Anthony definitely made me feel like I am doing something to make a difference.

After getting my nails done, I went to Chick-Fil-A. Sitting next to me was a 5 year old boy who LOVES policemen. So of course, he was excited that two tables away were two police officers enjoying their lunch. Having noticed the boy, the two officers stopped to talk with the boy on their way out. It made me smile and it definitely made the boys day!!

Who did you make smile today?