Worn Out!

I remember a day about six years ago when Carl came home and told me that the entire agency that he works for would be moving to a new building located more than 2 hours from us.  Knowing how the government does things, and how slow they can be, I thought it would never happen.  Well, it did...His office being relocated is part of what's known in this area as 'BRAC' which stands for Base Realignment and Closure. They are defining it as "a congressionally authorized process of the Department of Defense to reorganize its base structure to more efficiently and effectively support our forces, increase operational readiness and facilitate new ways of doing business."   Whatever that means...All I know is that this week Carl started  a very long commute to his new office, where the building is said to be the length of an aircraft carrier.  Fortunately he has been able to get into a 'van pool' so he only has to drive about 30 minutes to the meeting place.  But another downside to all of this is that to get there he's leaving home by 4:30 in the morning.  I'm getting up early too because it leaves me to get everything done before I go to work.

I have never been very good at change.  And this change, at least this week has left us both worn out, and exhausted.  When I get this way, things that wouldn't ordinarily bother me, do.

Things like what happened yesterday when we noticed that the Phoebes that built their nest just more than a week ago are no longer around.  We really tried to stay away from the area of the nest as much as we could.  But it really bothered me that they were gone.  I checked and was glad to see that there were no eggs.

I was also upset when Hamlet chose a couple of times this week to not go for a walk with us and hasn't wanted to come outside.  I know he's been really sensitive to the heat and just have to hope that it was because of that and nothing more.  I've not yet heard back from the vet about the results of the culture, hopefully I will in the next couple of days.  The ulcerations on the tumor, while still draining a little bit, I think, aren't nearly as 'angry' as they have been.  As I write this, Hamlet is laying on his left side, which is the side of the tumor--I've no idea if that means anything, but I am a tiny bit encouraged by that.

Another moment came at the groomers when I dropped off Charlie this morning. I met someone who was bringing in two Scottish Terriers to be groomed.  Of course I mentioned that we were getting one at the end of the month.  I was totally unprepared for her telling me that she didn't think that anyone should get puppies when there were so many in shelters that needed homes.  I tried to tell her that I've devoted the last 12 years of my life to rescue, in particular the senior dogs, but it fell on deaf ears and ended in my feeling on the verge of tears.  I left the shop and was called a few minutes later by the owner who apologized for what happened.  She gave me some very kind words of encouragement which I appreciated.

As I said, typically these kinds of things don't bother me, at least not to much.  Which is why on my day off it has been so nice to just be home, eating all the wrong food, watching reruns Project Runway, relaxing and catching up on your blogs.  I hope you're having a nice day too!