The Goldenrod Chronicles, Emotional Support Dog II

Roux got a promotion

Hi from Wisconsin, where it’s -6 degrees and I’ve been running the wood stove all day. And where it barely hovered into the positives.

But honestly, I think most of us barely hovered into the positives today either.

M wakes up hours before me, but this winter she has taken to crawling back in bed with me when I wake up and she hears me start to stir.

But in her early morning hours, she snuggles up with Roux and blankets on the sofa in the living room downstairs. They have coffee and read the paper and talk about college basketball or the WNBA, and on occasion politics. (Or at least I assume. I am always sleeping).

Just after sun up this morning, I heard the stair treads squeak as M returned upstairs. Back in bed, huddled together for warmth, we managed a whole ten minutes of updates and conversation before Roux gave up the comforts of the sofa and treaded upstairs too. We made it about five more minutes before acknowledging today’s inauguration and all the feelings that come along with it.

With very heavy and anxious hearts we petted Roux’s ears (a favorite) and patted her paws as we sat with (and fidgeted through) all the emotions bubbling inside our little (big) human hearts as the sun rose and the west filled with a growing, glowing light.

Gosh, she doesn’t know how much we’re going to need her for the next four years. How much she’s going to have to be there for us to get through what’s to come. Our little emotional support dog.

And then

Gosh. She needs a promotion. For how good she’s been lately, and for her new role these next years. Emotional Support Dog II.

This is, undoubtedly, both a show of appreciation for how much we love this dog and how much she helps us stay grounded and regulated and seeing and feeling what’s important - but also a sign that I have been working on too many HR-related initiatives at work.

We talked to Roux as we petted her, about her new role and the bigger responsibilities she is going to have, and the bigger expectations. We explained the increase in salary (cookies) that comes along with the position. But also that she should not expect overtime pay because this is an exempt, salaried position. She continued to accept her pets, and her new role, as she gently placed her paw on top of M’s hand in understanding, and her chin on my ribs in a show of comfort. Big girl, big promotion, big new responsibilities.

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Of course (as always) I designated this three-day weekend as focused, dedicated work time on the stair treat project. We have come to learn in this household that focused, dedicated work time means about five hours of solid work starting after 1pm, and usually gaining steam after it gets dark. M, who is a patient goddess of all things good, is kind when it comes to my inability to start tasks each day and stay focused, but would also REALLY LIKE ME TO FINISH THE STAIR PROJECT.

We spent some time downstairs together, a portion of which I attempted an unsuccessful photoshoot of the dog modeling my glasses, and the remaining portion of the time I was clearly not doing anything related to the stair tread project.

M went upstairs around noon, leaving me to my own devices, but also gently double checking that I would at least start some progress on the stairs. She, of course, wrongly assumed that my own devices included some sort of advancement of the stair tread project.

At some point she kindly and gently yelled downstairs to me “Hi love! I just want to check in to see if you are making progress toward your goals for today.”

Sheepishly, I responded “Yeah” knowing full well that sitting hunched over my computer creating a LinkedIn profile for Roux to brag to her professional acquaintances about her promotion was, in fact, not me making any progress toward my goals for today.

I very often wonder how M puts up with me is so gentle and patient and kind in co-existing with my absolute and utter chaotic life choices. But then I realized I don’t have to wonder, I can just accept and be grateful.

Later in the day, after making actual progress on the stair tread project and grappling with very strong emotions about the very disheartening news churning out through the afternoon, I handed my phone to M with Roux’s LinkedIn profile showing on the screen. She laughed really hard and thought it was adorable and we started thinking of ways to make Roux’s account really sparkle.

So, please join me in congratulating Roux on her promotion (it’s well deserved!) and pat yourself on the back for making it through this first day of the bleak unknown.

And, to all of you beloved and precious and treasured souls YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE: Your existence is a gift. Your strength is a gift. Your softness is a gift. Your deep knowing of yourself is a gift. The way you move through the world is a gift. A gift to the world and a gift for the rest of us. Trans people and non-binary people and gender non-conforming people have always AND WILL ALWAYS EXIST and the rest of us are lucky as fuck for that fact.

Just because the rights I have now may be considered “safe” and are not being targeted - it doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight like hell to make sure this world is safe and fair and full of protections for everyone else, now and long into the future.

In solidarity 🏳️‍⚧️
vanessa