Registered Nurse and Master Reiki Practitioner
Getting started on anything can feel daunting…let alone a first blog post. But New Beginnings are what I’m all about and since I know it doesn’t matter REALLY, here I begin. Should you decide to begin following these posts and join this community, know that I don’t follow a lot of “rules” about who, what, where, when, why. More on that later, but I like asking questions and challenging all of the agreements we make in our society, communities, and globally within humanity. Therefore, I make no promises on what topic or story I will discuss or write about, and posts may even jump around a bit too. If you have any questions, please ask and/or reach out to me! If there’s something specific you would like for me to write about, I’ll do my best, but in general I’m going to be flying by the seat of my pants and my inspiration at the moment. I hope you enjoy the read! Cheers to community, sharing resources, and New Beginnings!
This New Beginnings post has come unseemingly out of left field for me. I begin this journey with one of the greatest Loves and Protectors I’ve ever had in my life; my companion canine, Rocky. Out of left field because I’m a New Beginnings Nurse. Sense of Self, Health, Balance, Wellness, Healing, Nursing…these themes are the core of my offerings, yet here I am talking first about my sweet Rocky. Let’s be honest right away though, I navigate my New Beginnings with a side of ADHD (more on that later), so REAL LIFE tells me that this Rocky story will be a trail of various thoughts and ideas centered around my Love.
Rocky Loves Meatballs
Rocky in the physical: English Bulldog, Twelve years old. Rocky in the metaphysical: a “Dude” haha! My chosen life partner and I have been navigating existence together for over seventeen years and we’ve been lucky enough to be blessed with our Rocky for twelve of those years so far. I grew up with various types of non-human companions; Dogs, Cats, Horses, Birds, Rabbits, Mice, Hamsters, Bearded Dragons, Snakes, Salt & Freshwater Fish, to name a few. My partner grew up with mostly Dogs and Cats, Hamsters, and Fish.
In my early “adult” years I was navigating the adventures of youth with my new chosen family so I didn’t notice how much I missed having animals around until I moved in with my partner when at age twenty-one. When I first moved out of the house that my roommates and I shared on Haight and Octavia (Ah…good times), I moved into a place with a woman who was the leaseholder. It was a 2bd/2ba so I was stoked I got my own room (well any city’s version of a room aka a space with walls that a curtain can divide). This new place was an extra special find for me because my finances were limited, but our place was literally a 3-minute walk around the corner to my work, and the woman had the SWEETEST golden retriever who needed to go on walks and potty once during the day. So I would take the pup on potty/walk breaks during the day and I got a reduced monthly rent (it was an awesome arrangement). It also cured any ails I had for animal connection because now I had an outlet!
Flash forward four months when my partner and I have become “those'' annoying people who are inseparable. His roommates were feeling frustrated because I was over at their place, and when I wasn’t there my roommate was feeling frustrated because my partner was at my place. Long story later, we moved in together and I was itching to add a pup to our new little family. When we first moved in together we were in a 500sqft apartment with two windows. My partner worked 4 days/week at his office and I was working usually 10-15+ hour days 5+ days/week depending on my projects at work. Despite my pleas, my partner intelligently pointed out that we’re not home and what time would we really have to give another energetic being? Ok fine. Research I will then.
I spent the next five plus years researching the different breeds and analyzing which breed might be best for our lifestyle and goals: the English Bulldog. Very specific with no wavering. English Bulldogs seemed to fit us perfectly; Snugglers, love exercise, but don’t require it, not too big in size. Although we’re avid outdoor enthusiasts, we didn’t want a pup that would require hours long exercise every day. Since I had years to research the breed and everything I could discover about it, I also knew that English Bulldogs had numerous inherent health concerns. Although I’m a fierce advocate for rescue, first and foremost I’m an advocate for making decisions that are best for you and your family, and for many people that would not be rescue (more on that another time). Knowing what I did at the time, we chose to find a breeder that was approved by the AKC and do additional research to ensure we were getting a babe breed with the health of the breed in mind. No matter what, in my personal opinion, there is no excuse for getting a dog from a puppy mill type breeder or associated type stores. People can say what they want about backyard breeders, but there are people out there attempting to breed for health and who offer families the ability to bring a puppy or young dog into the home without a lot of additional needs (other than the basic life needs). My partner and I have been volunteering with animal rescue organizations for decades, and I previously worked at the Humane Society so I’m fully immersed in the rescue life. We’re on our 4th rescue babe, not including fosters, and committing to rescue, albeit beautiful and rewarding, requires a lot more resources than when bringing home a young healthy puppy. I could probably provide all sort of different perspectives on this topic, but in attempting to keep within the story at-hand, I digress.
I was at work (like I always was during that time period) on a break when I happened to come across Rocky’s puppy baby face on the interwebs. I don’t remember how I found his breeder’s website, but I still remember all of their information and yes (as of this post) they are still helping other families find their furever loved one! Per my usual I sent off a quick email to my partner (our main mode of communication at the time — before texting became every day) with a link to Rocky’s baby face…moments later, my partner was all-in. Now knowing myself, I reminded my partner that if we pulled money out of a bank account and drove to meet this babe, there was NO WAY I wasn’t going to want to bring him home.
After six years of waiting, the time is upon us, and I’m apprehensive because are we sure we’re ready to commit responsibility for another being’s life? Que sera sera…now I’ve learned to trust the Universe and remove the what-ifs, because at the end of the day, the Universe has your best interest at heart and will guide you. So here we are, feeling excited and nervous and joyful all-in-one, walking up to the front door of the breeder’s house. The breeder we chose only bred 1x/year and raised the puppies with their family (including young children), so after all the research it felt like a good fit for us. I was smitten IMMEDIATELY. Shocker. My boy. My baby boy. And mine and my partner’s first babe together. Lots of firsts and new and ahhhhhhh the beauty! I remember the drive home was a couple hours so we stopped on the road with our baby boy to let him potty as needed. AH his little baby paws and little baby face and nose and baby bodddyyyy. So obsessed! My partner and I were waaay too excited so we didn’t actually end up going home right away; we went straight to our chosen family’s place to introduce our new baby love. My boy. Our boy. Our sweet love.
Until next time…
With Love & Kindness,
Your New Beginnings Nurse
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