I may have mentioned before (and I may let Mama talk for herself about it at some point) but Mama is a Peer Support Specialist. It sounds confusing to some but I DO understand because she's explained it to me. Mama helps people who have sads and people who get nervous being around other people and people who get stressed out. She helps all kinds of people. And the reason she's REALLY good at what she does is because she's had the major sads for almost her whole life. She's also one of those humans who are like doggies to squirrels. If she doesn't take her one special treat (Mama interjection: Pill, Stella. Pill. Thankfully I don't need cheese or peanutbutter to take them.) Mama gets more distracted than me!
Sometimes though helping other people and doing her play and dealing with grandma (who has some major sickies; we'll talk about those another day) and dealing with just everything it makes the sads come back. Sometimes it happens really fast and she feels like she can't breathe! Mama says she's very lucky because I'm starting to sense when she isn't feeling well and am more likely to cuddle than want to play. She's had a couple of the fast hitting ones this week and let me tell you it's pretty scary. Normally she can tell when they're coming but this week has been different. She's trying to figure it out but sometimes there's just no knowing what causes them. But again, I'm trying very hard to learn and help her through.
A few days ago, Nanny came in to our room to say bye-byes because she was leaving for work and I was sleeping above Mama's head! Like back paws on one side, front paws on the other and my belly right on top of her head! She and Nanny had a good laugh at that one but sadly no picture was obtained. But hey! I was helping! Mama had had one of those bad ones the night before and she said the sads happen in her head so I figured I'd soothe her brain-parts with my soft little belly!
Anyway, Mama is doing better than she was. She's even said that there must be something weird in the air because some of Mama's IRL friends and other bloggy folks have mentioned having sads or someone being sickie. For example Lola's daddy. Lola is an amahzing nurse but please put your paws together and say some prayers for Lola's family along with all those other bloggers and humans who aren't feeling so hot.
That being said, here's some happy:
-The puppies over at Lab Tails are growing and looking cuter by the minute! Since I have a bit of a Labbie look, Mama wonders if I might have looked like them when I was tiny!
-Marge (also known as MY HERO) and her Mama Sam did some agility class this week and Sam was kind enough to post a video. It made my Mama smile like WHOA. Personally, I just want to be as good at agility as Marge is when I grow up! (Also, Sam posted some amazing and profound (Mama's words, not mine) about her life with horses. Mama only made it through the first post about it so far because she figures she'll end up bawling but she's definitely going to read it soon. If you haven't, make sure and read them. Sam is a kick butt writer.)
-Twinkie Van Twinkerson had a lovely advice post that almost made Mama piddle she laughed so hard. Truth be told, I thought she'd finally gone off her rocker.
-And last but not least, one of the oddest websites Mama has ever seen. Mummy (the Canadian, eh) has a rather... odd sense of humor and found said site quite funny. If Mama remembers correctly there may be some crudeness so be warned! I present Unrelated Captions. It's a format similar to lolcats and loldogs etc. but as implied it is pictures with ENTIRELY unrelated captions.
And now what you all have been waiting for: PICTURES OF MEEEEEEEE! Don't worry. I'll forgive you if you skipped the ramble just to she my gorgeous mug :) A few days ago when I needed to burn some energy Mama took me up to the cemetery and surprised me with a walk up in to the woods. Man, was that cool. Plus I had my new flexi leash on and she just let me sniff and explore. It was really nice for both of us.
Last but not least:
Peace out!
-Stella the Shrink
We love your photos. And we want to thank you for your kind thoughts about Daddy. He got home yesterday afternoon and is continuing to recover (with my help, of course). You know, I keep the sads away from him, too, along with his own treats. He has always had them on and off, although it's better now that he's old for some reason. Still and all, he can't work anymore because of his physical problems and is in pain a lot so if not for me, he might be terribly sad while he's home alone during the day. I'm not just bragging there. He's really been happy having me as a companion. He loves the cats but they're not quite the same.
ReplyDeleteBlog Mom says that all kinds of thing can give you a case of the sads. She isn't naturally inclined toward them but a few years ago she had to be on a medication for a type of lymphoma - which is OK now. But she said that she got some horrible sads then and she thinks it was the medication because it didn't feel anything like just being naturally sad, but it was worse than anything she'd ever experienced in her whole life, including the lymphoma itself. So, we hope you can help your Mom keep those feelings at bay and we know how they can mess you up. It's very good she has you to help. A fine dog is the best medicine.
wags, Lola
My mom person is someone who suffers from bad sads called manic depression & social anxiety disorder! She says that I am great comfort to her. I bed we'd all be great friends if we could meet in real life!
ReplyDeleteHi Stella, I'm Jayden, a yellow lab guide dog. My mom and I have just found your blog through my friend Toby's blog and we're really liking it! My mom said to ask you if your mom might be interested in writing a guest post about the sads and stuff because my mom is doing a series on her blog this month for mental health awareness month. We want to know if you're a therapy dog? Maybe if we read more, we'll find out. She didn't know if she should ask since we just met you, but she really likes having personal stuff for her series. We're gonna go follow just as soon as we've read everything. You sound cool and I wish I could have a date with you, but I'm not sure if your dates are with intact guys ;) Since I'm a guide dog, they had to make me not intact anymore, bummer.
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