Reflections, Goals, and Getting Ready for My New Foster(s)

With Jerrad back to full-time work for the first time in over a year, it feels weird to have all this time to myself. Or at least, solid 8-9 hour chunks. Its like it used to be, when I wrote for 3-4 hours a day non-stop without the prescence of another human creature in the house. Its a GREAT feeling. Combine that with no current fosters, and only working part-time, and I suddenly have all this 'free-time' that I should do something with. But I'm kind of an old dog kind of person, and I don't do well with change in general. Sometimes people say your dog is like you, and this is where Beckett and I are exactly the same. We don't do well when the routine suddenly vanishes. We don't know what to do with ourselves. I mean, there's so many things I could be doing, that I'd like to be doing, but my brain and body just haven't moved past 'now what?' expecting things to go back to normal.

But having the couple of days just to 'think' (and hang with my board dog Jersey the Great Dane) has given me a little bit of insight only time can give.

First off, is the fact that if and when I ever get a purebred dog, I am getting a female Great Dane. Secondly, I do not have a lazy couch-potato brain and I'm going to go nutty if I don't start doing anything soon. I'm kind of like a collie in that way. STRUCTURE. Give me STRUCTURE.

Jersey says: "How bout a nice couch please"


Another boot up the arse alongside all the free-time was a nice swift beating from the Saskatchewan job market. Jeepers Murphy is there a lot of opportunity for me there. First of all, I found a great opportunity to write for TV, but after tossing the idea around in my head, I know I want to stay in BC for awhile yet, and keep working with dogs, and all in all, not really 'grow-up'. I want to concentrate on writing for my masters program, and not writing for money right yet. I love fostering, I love boarding, and I love writing, and although money is pretty tight there's always a way to make it work and we never go hungry or without any fun. And truly, I don't know if I ever want to 'write' with the goal of a paycheck, and 5-10 years down the road I might just open my own daycare in Regina. But for now, I'm not going to think of 'the plan'. Right now, I am still living the plan through Masters in September -just the five year plan kind of got away from me in the last couple of years :P

So, after two full days of Jerrad leaving, I'm made myself a goal sheet for this year.

1. I will finally buy myself a new laptop and quit using Jerrad's desktop. SOON.
2. I will write at least two full novels and, beginning in August, maintain two dedicated hours per day (dogs permitting) to devote to my writing.
3. I will continue and 'finish' both my Saskatchewan suite of poems, and my "Muse" suite of poems, if they don't merge first.
4. I will begin work on my already plotted young adult novel about the life of dogs if humans suddenly vanished from the face of the earth.
5. I will finish my novel "M" and get it ready for publication.
6. I will read everyday while the dogs are napping instead of throwing on a movie.
7. I will take time to take Beckett and Beckett only for at least one nice long walk once a week to remember that he is mine one, my soul-dog, my best friend. That without him in my life, I would neither be fostering, nor working with dogs at all.
8. I will continue to foster and do the best that I can do -including hopefully growing the TG foster network alongside helping out Laura and the Mexican dogs, and Island Dogz (and possibly others).
9. I will save some money to go on a vacation either in the States or Mexico, and go to a high-kill shelter where I can pick a few dogs to bring back to rescue in Canada.
10. I will FINALLY make it to a TG reunion!

I'm going to print it out and tape it to the wall so that when I'm feeling like I have nothing to do, I see that I do really have a lot I want to accomplish.

And, in other news, Trunk will be my next foster:


Puggle/Collie mix -strange. She'll be my "Puggie".
I might be getting a second TG foster, but we'll see a little closer to the bus run (which is scheduled for next weekend!!!)

Thanks for reading my rambling (or skipping it to get to the good part :P)
Emily