When I get up each morning, I ask God to let me do His will, not mine, and to be open to being of service. Yesterday afternoon, I received a phone call from someone close to me who was going to have to put their dog to sleep. For the last few months, her constant companion has been ill, and the odds of him of surviving have been slim. So, I offered to be with her as she said goodbye…..something that she immediately agreed to.
As we said our goodbyes, we reminisced about his relationship with my girls (Basset hounds, Daisy and Presley) and my son, Bailey. How unexpectedly this dog made an impact on her life and how much she is going to miss his presence. Once I got home I sent a text to some of our mutual connections to let them know what just transpired. Immediately, they were grateful for me sharing the information with them and went to reach out to her. One text was baffling. The response from this individual was, “Thanks. Unfortunately, we are going to have to put our dog down soon.” WTF?????? Yes, friends, the colorful language that I sprinkle through the day came shooting out of my mouth along with some other delightful semantics. You see, I wasn’t expecting that I would get a text back with no heart. Expectations can be a tricky thing.
In the throes of difficult times, there are always people that make it about themselves. Is it an effort to get attention or do they simply not have the capacity to be compassionate? Some people are genuinely uncomfortable with sad or complicated situations. I didn’t respond to the text. What do you say to that? This person’s dog has been on its deathbed for at least five years and still looks pretty spry, so it is baffling to me the context of the message. Sometimes no response is my best friend. Left to my own devices, I would have shot off a very unkind and snarky comment that would have led me to have to make amends. I try to limit the amount of amends I have to make.
So, after being annoyed by that response, I simply shook my head and did my infamous eye-roll in an effort to regain my composure. Sometimes I simply don’t have all the information and people’s responses don’t always truly represent how they really feel. All I can do is be responsible for me. Some days, that task is a tad overwhelming.
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