I have a hard rule at Misfit Manor that no political signs can be placed in our yard. This year though…I made an exception. I had this sign made for my handsome Buster. It was in part meant to be a fun surprise and attempt at levity for my husband…a little levity in an otherwise gloomy and hopeless election cycle can’t hurt. But it is also a commentary on how poor our choices are in yet another election. Buster has more smarts and certainly better manners than either of the two clowns running for president of our struggling country.
Watching the first debate was downright deflating. It also made it seem inevitable that the election results will be controversial…law suits will be filed…no matter who appears to win. It is going to be a drawn out and ugly struggle that will drag our already struggling country through months of political uncertainty and mud.
I have to be honest…I waffle between thinking that we deserve better than the political circus our government has become…and yet on the other hand believing that we are getting exactly what we deserve. With a cadre of career politicians serving 30-40-50 years in office …never being voted out for failing us over and over…maybe we are getting what we deserve. Clearly we have not reached a point of enough disgust and frustration to demand change in the campaign rules and term limits to put an end to politics as a “career” once and for all. The bright and competent people we need to run for office…never will…unless Washington get’s an overhaul to once again become a vehicle for serving the greater good rather than a vehicle for a handful of sycophants to get rich.
Taking nothing personally…
I have been thinking a lot about the level of stress and anxiety that is permeating daily life now. It feels like this wet blanket of anxiety is part of the new normal. Especially in this past week…something had to be way out of alignment astrologically for a few days…everyone I encountered (including myself) seemed frazzled, distracted, short tempered, frustrated or all of the above at once. It was almost as if the air felt like it was sick for a couple of days.
We are unfortunately being forced to reframe our sense of “community”. We are physically separated from each other by COVID, not seeing strangers smile anymore because of masks and becoming so fiercely divided over political ideologies that civil conversations are becoming a forgotten past time. My own coping skill/tool in this mess is to work as hard as I can at taking nothing personally. I am trying to remember that everyone is carrying a lot these days. If someone is being rude, impatient or offensive…I have to pause and remind myself to take a deep breath…its not personal…its not about me…I want to make every effort to give them the same grace I need right now. I have to be diligent to be kind and politely walk away from anything unproductive or contentious.
Surviving Allergy Season…
I took a bunch of my girls up to our vet for allergy shots and check ups this week. Two of my girls get regular Cytopoint allergy shots (about every 60 days). Rag weed season is upon us and it’s terrible this year. My Lhasa Apso, Lacey Mae, has had horrible allergies her whole life and fall is particularly rough. The Cytopoint shot is the only treatment we have found that works for her. My Rosie obsessively licks her feet. We started her on Cytopoint earlier in summer and it virtually stopped the obsessive licking. Cytopoint is a non-steroidal shot that can be administered much more frequently than the older steroid based allergy shots. We haven’t experienced any side effects from it. The shot only takes a few days to start working and it has been much more effective at controlling symptoms than any of the other treatments we have tried in pill form. If your dog is suffering with red/itchy skin or other symptoms like excessive licking I definitely recommend talking to your vet about Cytopoint.
At our visit my vet told me that one bright spot in all this mess is that illnesses and injuries in pets are being caught and treated much earlier than what they typically see. With so many people spending more time at home…the attention they pay to their pets and the care of their pets is improving. That is truly wonderful.
Don’t forget us about us…
Don’t forget about us this upcoming holiday season for gift giving for your pet loving friends and family! Our season is coming to its end in October for the vacation rentals…and it has been a colossal disaster. Instead of providing a year’s worth of income for me and the Misfits it is costing us money to even keep it going. I never could have imagined anything this bad happening to the business we worked so hard to build. We are hopeful we can hang on until next season and that travel will resume. But our shops our open and we have a lot of cute and affordable items for dog and cat lovers alike so check us out here in our own Misfit Manor Shop or on Etsy!
Be well…Be kind!
Nancy & The Misfits