Dog and House sitting

I'm taking my name off the website list for dog sitting and house sitting, even for the ones in New Zealand and Fiji - places I've always wanted to go to.... It's clear after a mere two weeks of doing it that I'm not cut out for this. Today's my first day of freedom and I feel like I'm on holiday! Two weeks of staying at someone else's house, caring for their severely crippled (as in had to be carried outside to do their business and watched)14 yo dog, one day away from euthanasia, took way more time than I anticipated. The dog has seen much better days (hopefully) and is now in assisted living - I was the caretaker. I'm sure Monty had alot more personality when she was younger but now she doesn't bark, whimper or make any noise at all - even though I'm sure her joints are in pain. She can walk a little but it was painful to see her hobble on her doubled over paws, pitching forward, waiting for her to tumble on her face. I also realize that I'm not really an "animal" person - unless it's an animal that I've raised and have a relationship with. Sort of the same way I feel about children - I don't enjoy them indiscriminately.

Big news - to coincide with the end of dog sitting - I got the braces off the top teeth yesterday! I've been rolling my tongue over them ever since. Unfortunately the lower have to stay in another month - they had to take molds for the top and permanent retainer; they have to be shipped off to Houston, TX and take that long to come back! Oh my god what a pleasure to floss my teeth! I never thought I'd say that. I made a bargain with myself that when I got my braces off I'd floss more regularly - compared to how you have to floss when you have braces - it's a cinch. It was such an arduous task (like embroidering between your teeth) that I hardly ever did it (don't tell my orthodontist). I've had my braces for 21 months - now it's a retainer for six months all the time and then at night - I think permanently.

Most of what I missed during my two weeks sojourn as a dog sitter was having the time to write. It helped me to realize how much I love it and look forward to have pieces ready for my writing groups. Only two more weeks of Natalie Goldberg's class - last night we wrote Haiku - who knew, apparently I have a knack for it. Could I get paid for writing Haiku?