Category: General

It started to rain and thunder.  I hate rain and thunder, so I settled in my spot under the porch to wait it all out. 

Then there was a big bang. The rain stopped. Then came a smell, then sirens.  Between the smell and the sirens, my master came home.  He looked concerned as he came through the garage and onto the porch. He didn’t so much as acknowledge me, he just looked up to the sky and then rushed inside. 

Then the sirens came, and everyone was suddenly here- the grandparents too.  Then everyone left.  And I was left outside to sleep. I really prefer to sleep in my kennel inside.  This went on for two nights. 

Then they returned, and I continued to be ignored.  Yes, they fed me, and they let me inside to sleep, but the smell inside was still there.  Smoke I think they call it.  And I did not like it. I could tell they did not either. There were constantly people I did not know in and out of our house.  I sat and watched from the backyard. The lights inside came back on, then the TVs worked again.

And the big kids were home all day, every day which was weird.  Based on the temperature outside, this didn’t seem right.  It was out of cycle. But they played with me in the backyard some, and I liked it.  

My female master, who isn’t much of a master because I don’t see the need to mind her much given the low level of attention she gives me, seemed concerned about everything going on at home, but I could sense there was something bigger going on.  My male master was gone much more than usual.  Where was he? 

Then one day she started loading up the car, with lots and lots of things.  Back and forth from inside to the garage she went over and over carrying things. Where were we going?  Was I going? Based on the looks of all she was loading, there was not going to be room for me.  Were they escaping the smell and leaving me in it? 

One of the grandparents arrived, the ones with the other dog and my kennel went in the back of his truck, and I went too.  

I began to worry.  Where am I going with him? He drove away with me in his truck. But then the smell changed, and I could tell that we were headed to my favorite place.  The river.  Would my family be coming too? 

Not long after, they all arrived.  The female and the three kids.   The grandparent unloaded my kennel to the porch and left. 

After my female owner unloaded everything she had packed up, I could see her visibly begin to relax. She likes it here too, but I could sense that the circumstances in which we were here were different this time. 

I did what I usually do in my favorite place.  I slept late, even though my male master was still leaving before the sun woke up.  I swam and did my favorite thing, I ran with my masters and the kids.  We went to the park where I supervised their play from the shade.  

My little girl had gotten noticeably better at the monkey bars since we were here last time. My second male master, the oldest boy, ran some with the adults to the park.  I sensed a fluidness in his stride that suggested he was born to run much like me.  And the bab, well, had he even been here before? He sat and watched in his stroller and giggled when I came to nudge him.    

We didn’t seem to be in a rush to leave the park.   And we didn’t seem to be in a rush to leave my favorite place at all.   After a couple of days, I began to prepare myself to go back home. We only usually get a couple of days here at a time. Were we going to return to the smell and the distracted nature of everyone always coming and going to something?  In and out of the house they go to the garage to where I’m not sure because they don’t take me with them. 

But then two days passed, then a week. And then another. And we are still here.  I get to come inside some.  And I get petted a lot. I love to be petted. I humor the little girl as she “walks” me on my leash.  There is no need for the leash down here, but I sense this ritual is part of her play.  So, I play along.

And I am brushed.  My masters bought this expense brush a while back to get rid of my constant shedding this time of year, but they rarely seemed to have the time to use it.  It feels good to be brushed.  I feel cooler, lighter. 

And I think I am lighter.  I eat my usual two meals a day and anything I can scrounge up that someone has dropped.  But I’m outside more and I run more, play more, and it makes me feel lighter. 

The baby even sits with me some and examines my paws with his fat hands.  I give him a kiss often and he grins at me. 

From the tone of my master’s conversations, I can tell something serious is going on.  I think it may have something to do with people’s health and I think it is part of what is causing our extended stay here in addition to the bang, smell, and sirens.  I also think it is why, even when my male master has not left early in the morning, he is on the phone a lot.   Work I think they call it. But he seems happy. He gets to mow the grass, and I know he loves to see that completed.  A lot of what he does for what they call work never seems to ever reach completion. 

And her work. She seems to be working.  I hear her on the phone talking to other people about work and issues. She puts it on speaker while we are walking so I can hear too.  But she doesn’t seem to work at the same pace as before.  I don’t see her looking at the screen as much. She’s not constantly rushing to and from the house to the garage, off in her car, back again, and then off again.   It’s as if this is the only place we need to be. Here, now. And she likes it. 

And I’m minding her more.  Because she pays attention to me more.  And to the kids.  They play Beauty shop and lava monsters.  They draw and paint and read. They bake Cupcakes  I did get in trouble for taking one off the counter, but it was worth it.  It was good.   

The big kids walk down the lane to take the neighbor some cupcakes.  I supervise this trip. 

They examine waterfalls on their bike rides and try to find what is making the pecking noise in the trees.  They watch some TV, but I can tell that when my female master is watching what she wants to and not some kids show, it isn’t really what she wants to do.  She gets that look on her face, that look of concern.  But she turns it off. It is being turned on less and less. They play in the sand and on the swing.  I supervise this too. 

I know that something has gone terribly wrong to have brought us to my favorite place for so long but maybe, something has also gone horribly right.   

I hope we stay at this pace and place more. 

Author’s Note:

 Just as COVID-19 was beginning to take shape here, our house was struck by lightning and caught the attic on fire.  My husband was literally on the phone with 911 as he was getting an incoming call from the hospital where he works as an administrator to decide how to proceed with what would become the first case of COVID-19 in our area.  

We have been fortunate that no one was hurt in the fire, and the property damage while inconvenient and costly, is all fixable and covered by insurance.  As they repair our home, we are lucky to have a place to stay that happens to be out of town, away from the chaos, and with a lovely view of the Tennessee River.  

We are fortunate too, that as of this writing, none of our friends or family members have contracted the virus. 

During “normal” days, but especially during uncertain times, there is a flood of emotion.  In the midst of crisis, there is still good, and sometimes good that can only truly be seen when there is bad.  

I sent a picture to my family members of the kids playing at the park a day or two after we settled here.  Our black lab, Lou, was laying under the monkey bars watching the kids.  Almost immediately the responses came in from grandparents and they were all, not about the kids, but about how happy the dog must be. 

This gave me pause.  The dog is happy? I rarely care if the dog is anything, let alone happy.  I have too much going on to care about the dog most days.  But, it gave me pause to see this all through the lens of Lou. 

Happy she is.  And despite this uncertainty and tragedy, we are too.  And I wonder, why do we not live like this more?  Things will eventually return to “normal” but I’m not sure I will position my family’s life back just the way it was.  I pray I won’t and the dog does too. 

Written by guest blogger: Marissa Perez, Business POP

There are several misconceptions about running a small business; some think entrepreneurs have all the time in the world since they create their own schedule, while others think huge risks are a daily task needed to see success. As a small business owner, you know these aren’t true, but you still may have misconceptions of your own, one of them being that you can’t possibly compete with your larger competition. You won’t be taking down Amazon anytime soon, of course, but you can still compete with the best of them.

Find Smart Ways to Cut Costs

Cutting costs can be viewed negatively, but the key is to do it in a way that doesn’t decrease quality or jeopardize safety, such as cloud computing or dropshipping. By using cloud-based software, you no longer have to buy and install the software and updates or pay a team to run it, and you reduce the amount you spend on storage space and large servers. If you’re spending a lot on the supply end, consider dropshipping, in which a supplier handles the inventory and shipping. It’s a low-risk option with low or zero overhead for you and no need to pay for inventory until a transaction is made. Plenty of products make good dropshipping businesses, so do some research. You can reduce the costs of marketing campaigns as well by taking advantage of the budget-friendly (but effective) advertising campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or create your own business filter on Snapchat.

Keep Your Website Updated

When people are searching for your business online or even just discovering you for the first time, the first place they go to is your website, so make sure it stands out. You can use some of the popular website builders like Wix or Squarespace to easily create a professional website with content, product pages, and a contact page, but you are often limited on the design and templates and may have trouble getting the graphics to sync up. This is where it makes sense to hire graphic designers who have experience with graphic design tools, as well as web and mobile design, to make your website stand out on a visual level. You’ll find various rates, some as low as $35 an hour and some on the pricier side at $100 an hour, so be sure to interview candidates. Pay attention to their portfolio, reviews, the scope of work, and the timeline for completion.

Once they start designing, ask them to include a blog page and show you how to quickly update it to enhance your customer engagement, credibility, and SEO. Plus, you can kill two birds with one stone by posting the link on your social media profiles.

Jump on the Technology Train

It might sound cool to say you have an accountant, but there is accounting software that can do the same thing both instantly and for a better price, helping you keep track of invoicing, payments, expenses, bills, and payrolls, among other things. On the same note, it would be awesome to defer things to your HR team, but as a small business you probably don’t have this luxury, leaving you to do it yourself, but this can eat up as much as roughly 35 percent of your time, according to a study cited by FinancesOnline. With HR software, you can better oversee your talented employees, track goals, and comply with those confusing legal requirements including taxes, healthcare, and insurance. Automation increases efficiency too, making it simple to create your own custom reports and even enabling employees to log on themselves to request time off instead of giving you a sticky note that you are sure to lose.

It doesn’t matter how small your business is, you still need to keep up with your competition. You can compete with some of the bigger competitors too. With hard work and a few changes along the way, you’re another step in the right direction.

Our third child came into the world just perfect, then he stopped breathing and turned blue when he tried to nurse.  After two scary attempts at feeding, the pediatrician on call came in and told us he thought he had a tracheoesophageal fistula.  In laymen’s terms, I came to understand this as a hole between the esophagus and the trachea causing fluid to pass between these two “tubes” when it isn’t supposed to.   This would require surgery to correct, thus requiring a transfer to the NICU.  

Scary to say the least, but after getting our new blessing to the NICU, they were able to get a small enough tube down him.  This allowed them to suction a large amount of fluid out of his stomach. The fluid was the problem that kept him from eating, not a hole.   We were relieved but had to stay in the NICU for a bit to get him off an IV and make sure he could eat and gain weight on his own. 

That is when the lactation consultants descended on me.  One had already come in right after he was born and was phoning me regularly to check to see if the pumping and feeding was going well and to assess I think, my commitment to nursing.  They wanted to check in and watch at every feeding, make suggestions on how to do it, and then after we were released from the hospital they called and called and called to check-in. 

I nursed my first two children with success.  I had been there done that, knew the tricks of the trade and although nursing isn’t right or best for everyone, in our case it was right for me and the baby. I told each consultant that barring any major complications, I was committed to doing it until his first birthday.

I had a high level of skill through experience and a high level of will, or commitment to the task at hand.   

But they kept calling.  It about drove me crazy. 

I know they meant well and most likely had derived some schedule that they thought was best to check in on new mothers.  I bet their performance was also measured to a certain degree on their follow-through with these calls.  

But I had high will and high skill.  I needed to be left alone. If I wasn’t left alone, the risk is an erosion of the will or desire to do the exact opposite of what they want me to do.

The same is true in leading others who have a high level of skill and will in performing their job:  Get out of their way is the leadership style you need to utilize.  

Avoid the urge to help.   Don’t call them, they will call you if they need you. 

This came to the surface of my mind in resisting the urge to “help” someone who works with me on a presentation she was doing.  I was excited about the opportunity for her to present in this particular forum as was she. We have similar personalities that drive similar levels of internal motivation on similar tasks.  She likes to do what I like to do. We also both have experience presenting and are knowledgeable on the topic at hand. I wanted to “help” because I had a high level of skill and will with the assignment, but she did as well. 

So I sat back or sat on my hands metaphorically, resisting the urge to direct her.  She didn’t need direction. She did ask my thoughts on a couple of ideas for it but other than that, I just showed up the night she was speaking to watch. 

And she totally rocked it.  She did way better than I could have and way better than if I had tried to insert myself and my ideas into her preparation. 

So the key to leading when someone knows what they are doing and has a high desire to do it with excellence is to get out of their way. Don’t call them, they will call you.

Tuesdays from 4:00- 5:00 pm.  In the car. While our middle child is in gymnastics, I have found that this hour of concentrated time in a concentrated space leads to some productive homework time with my oldest.  While his newborn brother snoozes in his car seat, we tackle third-grade homework. And there is a lot of it. 

Take our list for Tuesday of this past week: 

-A math worksheet due Wednesday

-At least 10 minutes of multiplication facts practice that has to be signed off on each day by a parent for a grade

-Practice for a vocabulary test on Thursday (this is our greatest challenge usually)

-Practice for a spelling test on Friday

-Reading for a READO (think BINGO) assignment that requires reading five books in five different genres and passing an AR test (80 or above) to “READO” for the grading period

Where do you start?  

I used to dictate how this list played out.  Sometimes I opted to start with the hardest thing to conquer on the list, or maybe the most time consuming or maybe depending on my mood, I’d choose the opposite route- easiest, longest, etc.

But, now, I’m letting the eight-year-old decide what he wants to start with, and it seems to help his motivation. His motivation seems to come from a lowered stress level given the little bit of control I give him over conquering the homework. 

And he’s not alone.  Giving people control, or autonomy, in the workplace, also impacts stress and performance.  Take a listen to Your Brain at Work: How Do Humans Fit into the Future of Work?  Guest of the podcast, Lynda Gratton, a professor at the London School of Business says this:

“A lot of places aren’t healthy and that seems to be a real focus right now.  And actually one of the variables that seem to impact healthy workplaces is the level of autonomy that people have…..if people have control over when and where they work, that’s a really good thing.” 

She relates the correlation of healthy workplaces and autonomy by a lowered stress level when autonomy is present.  Dr. David Rock goes on in the podcast to cite two studies about the impact of autonomy. One in the workplace were allowing workers to make simple choices about their workspace led to increased productivity. And, interestingly enough, in a retirement home where simple choices about décor led to increased wellbeing as seen in a reduction of the death rate!

Third-grade homework isn’t life and death. For us though, it is often a source of stress.  By allowing the person under stress a level of autonomy as to how the work gets done leads to better productivity and wellbeing.  

It isn’t so much the order of how it gets done. The order in which he wants to get it done changes with his mood too. It’s the simple fact that he gets to choose the order that leads to better results. 

Maybe next we will move on to allowing him control over where the work gets done.  For now, though, the controlled environment of the car seems to work well. 

Where do you allow for autonomy in how work gets done? 

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