Do you ever feel stuck? I do. Sometimes, try as I might, life just doesn’t seem to be working out in my favor. Things aren’t moving, changing, evolving. I don’t like it.
These are, I’ve learned, when the universe is trying to tell me to shake things up. (Yes, I am suggesting that change is good.)
I have been fostering Tank for nearly five months. He is the sweetest dog I have ever met, with eyes that look deep into your soul. He was surrendered with his sister by his humans (a homeless couple) to one of my very best friends in early July. He settled in quickly and adapted the pack mentality in no time. He fit here. In these five months, we had maybe three inquiries from potential adopters, despite his oh-so-charming smile. He could tell that he didn’t really belong here though, as evidenced through neediness, calls for attention, etc., because he wasn’t MY dog. But he was happy to have a home, remarkably well-behaved, and we loved him immensely, so he was happy. These are the times (fellow foster parents, I know you are nodding your heads right now) that fostering is EASY. It doesn’t even seem like I have another dawg around. Life goes on, routines are followed, and life feels settled.
While I appreciate the calm, I also understand that this is not how life works. Life is meant to be continually in progress, with new developments at every bend. The only reason we fear change is because in the last few generations of our microevolution as humans, we have lost the coping mechanisms required to adjust. We are scared of the unknown because our lives are on perpetually on fast-forward and the slightest hiccup might destroy the plan we have set for ourselves.
This last week, I elected to move Tank to a new foster home. This was a terribly hard decision for me, and I’m not going to lie to you—I cried. A lot. (Mind you, this it was made easier because I knew he would be in wonderful hands, but all the same.) The first night, I missed my space heater and all-night-snuggler desperately. The next morning when nobody woke me up at 630 a.m., I was actually sad. He’d become so integrated into our lives here, that there was no “gap” for the cosmic forces to fill. We were settled.
Within 48 hours of moving him to the new home, we had an adoption application filled out and an overnight stay scheduled. He’s there right now, snuggling with his new humans, I’m sure, and finally feeling like he belongs somewhere. Nothing fills my heart with so much joy as when a dawg finds his or her forever home.
My lesson here, is that we can embrace the variety of life IF we ask for help along the way. I could have never done this alone. I had a wonderful support system with me through my sadness of letting go of Tank and a wonderful network of rescue friends who could take him in and find him the perfect home. Just because life feels “good” where it’s at, doesn’t mean it’s supposed to stay there. Shake things up a bit and see what life throws your way; you just might like where you find yourself.