*Pans to camera* "Really?!?!"

This week has been a series of moments that left me panning to camera to say "Really?" 

Example A: I'm out and about doing errands, realizing I need red tights. As in, I wanted to wear some one day and I discovered I didn't have any. So I spend some time in the mall (on the weekend which is the worst possible time to go to any mall) trying to find some to fit my fat ass (not a self-pitying or derogatory statement, my ass is fat and I love it. Fact.) and when I finally get home I find not 1, but 3 pairs of crimson tights long lost in a drawer. 
*pans to camera* "Really?!"

Example B:  I tackle a massive laundry day, 3 loads in one day (pretty irregular for our house) and upon folding the last of the last load, Princess Butters knocks the piles off of the bed and pukes on them. Just a shirt needed re-washing, but I really didn't need to fold all those clothes again right? WRONG.
*pans to camera/Butters* "Really?" 

Example C: Raleigh had his first day at Unleashed, a kennel free boarding facility that is quite literally a god send for us. We drop him off, he runs all day, then he sleeps like an angel. Amazing. He's there for his first (and only) day and he manages to run so hard and so long that he rips up his back paw pads. Has to stay home from Unleashed for the week. 
Like, the one place he can run his little heart out and play with tons of other dogs and he manages to hurt himself. Classic Ralls.
*pans to camera* "REALLY?!?!?!" 

I'm feeling a little annoyed, at the whole week of taking 1 step forward to take 2 steps back. Specifically with the Raleigh situation because that little shit spends more time in his cone than any other dog I know. So there we were: once again in the vet's office with his little booties on making sure he didn't get an infection. *eyeroll* 

Don't get me wrong, I take Raleigh to the vet 10000 times more than I go to the doctor. Weird scab/bump on my foot? Whatever, sleep it off. Weird scab/bump on Raleigh's foot? QUICK CALL THE VET EVERYONE PANIC OH MY GOD HE'S GOING TO LOSE THE FOOT. Same with Butters. Those two always get special treatment, and the same goes for any animal living/staying with me. 

One of my very favorite regulars came in to the shop at the height of this week, when Ralls had bloody feet and I knew it was going to cost me a few hundred bucks to fix. She's one of those people who can say one sentence to you and completely change your entire outlook on something, and always for the better. She said "You know, that's just life. In reality, we spend more time in the chaos than we do in the perfect happy medium place. Once you find that perfect spot where everything aligns and is working, it disappears. Makes you appreciate when things are good, even if not everything is good." And I was like 
"DAMMIT YOU ARE SO RIGHT."

We do spend so much time trying to balance everything perfectly, that we miss the good things happening. Yes Raleigh is in a cone again, and his feet are ripped to shreds but he's alive, loves doggy day care and still gets to cuddle with us every night. Yes Butters puked on my clothes, but at least she feels better after that right? It's an idea that we hear all the time in music and tv to "Appreciate the little things" or "be thankful for whats going RIGHT" but something we hardly ever do in practice. Bonding in our problems is such a cultural thing, and trying to bond in positive experiences is more difficult than it sounds.  For some reason, having this woman point it out to me just really worked. Here's to truly appreciating the small things. 

Yesterday Missy and I had some good interaction time, which is always a nice treat as she mostly runs around with Annie and the other chimps. Everyone was in a grooming session in the greenhouse except for Missy and Neggie who were inside. Missy and I played a little chase, then I grabbed a scarf and we played some tug-of war. In true Missy fashion, she got the scarf and proceeded to play a game of chase again, but this time Missy moved a few feet from the playroom door to the barn doors and I had to run from the playroom doors, through the kitchen, around the outside of the chimp house to the human side of the barn doors to try to grab the scarf only to have it pulled away to the playroom doors. Somethings I  think it's Missy's way of getting me some exercise. I mean, compared to her, she probably thinks I need to lose a few pounds. 

Mondays enrichment theme was "IPad Day" where the chimps have an opportunity to play games, paint, etc on the iPad. (in a chimp protective case and through the caging of course). Jamie likes to play a mouse catching game in which you tap on the mouse as it runs around the page and it squeaks when you hit it. She is a master at this game. Yesterday, not so much. Not remotely interested in the iPad. No painting, not even the animal sounds app that she and Foxie like to listen to, nothing. I brought the iPad into the playroom and she literally stared filing her nails with a file I gave her earlier. LITERALLY FILING HER NAILS SO BORED WITH THE IPAD. Foxie just wants to grab the iPad, but we did watch some Dora the Explorer for a minute. These chimps in particular are not that enthused about playing games on the iPad. Some days are more exciting than others, and more often than not Jamie is more interested in the pictures on my cell phone than what's on the iPad. Or better yet, grooming my feet and fingernails. 

I also, by some strange miracle, found a troll doll outside the coffee shop on Sunday morning. It's hard enough to find trolls on the internets, let alone to just come across one sitting outside. I snatched it up and gave it to Miss Foxie as a gift, and we even played some troll music with it! (A game I named, where Foxie passes me her troll doll and I bang it on anything and everything that makes noise, and we bob our heads to the music.) Nothing better than enjoying a troll doll together! 

Here's to patience, letting fate take its course and remembering to be present in every moment.

<3
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