Making Space

I finished all my kitchen duties and made a quick supply run. When I came back and mentioned that I would unload the car, not one but all three of my extraordinary employees separately asked, “do you need help?” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prepped the kitchen for our production days, and I see that one of them found a better way to organize our supplies or took the initiative to empty and clean the dehumidifier (something I forgot to mention needed doing). I’m pinching myself every day for the luck in finding kind, honest, hardworking people who genuinely care about doing great work.

Now that I’m not constantly overwhelmed and catching up on my backlog of laptop work, I’ve been missing volunteering at my local shelter. I’m not ready yet, it’ll be a few months, but walking shelter dogs brings so much joy to my life. 

Some people think a shelter is a sad place, and if I had magical, mystical powers, every sentient being would know love, comfort, safety, and peace. But, something about the resilience of some of the dogs’ spirits makes my worries seem minuscule and gives me the gumption to tackle hard things. I have the goofiest grin even when trying to keep up with the young, high-energy pups. They bounce and bop around the walking loop, joyful to walk, relieve themselves, and enjoy a few treats and pets (if that’s what their body language tells me). Then when they nestle and rest comfortably, even in a place they don’t understand, it reminds me that every day has so many blessings. Plus, at least at my shelter, when I get there mid-morning, other volunteers have already walked most of the dogs at least once, reinforcing my belief that people are good and generous.

When someone tells me they don’t know how I do it, that they’d feel so bad for the dogs and want to bring them all home, my response has always been, “well, Gavin would never allow a second dog, full-time dog, we tried multiple times early on. And, if I don’t leave the shelter a little misty-eyed, that means my heart has hardened, and I’m no longer a service to the dogs I walk.”

I’ll be back once Gavin and I move, and he’s settled in our new home. 

But, until then, I’m so excited that my local shelter agreed they could use what I’ve been calling Frosty Bites. Sometimes our batches thicken so quickly that one pouch may fill to 20 grams, then the next pouch fills to 120 grams. We don’t love it when pouches burst. It adds at least an extra hour to our clean-up time. So, rather than fighting and fussing with Felix, the piston filler, we’ve emptied that product into ice cube trays and frozen them. It makes me so happy to donate the treats, and I love being kind to mother nature by not adding more trash to the world. 

So, I’m entering my weekend a little lighter, literally. And am super grateful for the people in my life who’ve given me the time and space to be able to give back, even in this small way.

May your day and week be everything your heart and soul need.