St. Patty’s day is just a few days away, and today, I ran across some excellent Irish wisdom, so I thought I’d share.
This one brings tears out of one of my eyes, and a gleam of gratitude out of the other.
We all age, and mostly it seems to happen at an insignificant rate. Until one day. One day, we look in the mirror and wonder how maturity settled in so fast. It’s a shock.
I was speaking to a veterinarian recently during a very sorrowful time, and she used small talk to settle the nerves of both of us before what was to come. Though it wasn’t so small, that talk. She brought up this very thing, which I think a lot of Baby Boomers are facing. She told me she looks in the mirror now and wonders who that is. Until she mentioned it, I hadn’t faced it, but subconsciously, that question had been running through my own mind. I, too, wonder how this aging thing happened so suddenly. And then there’s weight gain, which we discussed, but that’s another story.
We may be older and a little less recognizable in the mirror, but we *are* still here. Living life with the gusto that remains. And now I pause.
For the other eye indeed has a tear for a dog trainer by the name of Leah Roberts who was a member of The Academy For Dog Trainers and its private chat group on Facebook. Though I never met Leah in person, I saw how she advocated for force-free training while active in our chat group, on her website, and in articles she published on the web. She was only in her 50’s and should have had more time to finish her to-do list.
Leah loved talking dogs, and would often post videos from Mishka. So I post this one in her honor. I know she would be especially thrilled that the interviewer says that Mishka’s guardians are not dog whisperers.
I’m not going to say rest in peace, Leah, because I believe, if there is indeed an afterlife, we do anything but rest. That would be dreary. I hope you’re ecstatically dancing with your dogs and together, relishing being the energetic souls that you are.
By Helen Verte
Certified Pet Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed, Certified Trick Dog Instructor
Positive Dog Trainer South Florida
