I volunteer with Hospice and at the Salvation Army. I have taken my 2 little dogs and visited nursing homes. People love to hold and pet a little dog and have often told me after moving to a nursing home they miss their house but they miss their dog the most. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities in every community and a lot of lonely people who just need someone to spend some time with them.
Right now I’m spending a lot of my good time training my new dog to be a mobility service dog. My doctor suggested that I would benefit from a service dog rather than another pet (medical alert and mobility are my issues)… The wait list for the program I applied to us 2-4 years. I was lucky enough to find a really good candidate for service dog training thru a rescue organization. So i figured i would train him as far as we could go, and if I ended up with the perfect service dog at the end of it then the dog through the organization could go to someone else. If he doesn’t work out as a service dog I have an awesome trained pet.
Once Ben mastered basic obedience I have been training him to do mobility work myself. One his training is solid for mobility, we will work on medical alert and response training. I don’t have the stamina to train intensely, but we get out of the house almost every day for either a walk or going someplace on the access bus (ADA bus for disabled). All the exercise has helped me lose a bit more weight and I’m off all my diabetes meds now, so my doctors are happy. My dog, Ben, is consistent enough now in the mobility work that I can take him grocery shopping, etc. Having him with me helps with the awful overload I go into in stores, I can focus on him and that helps me keep from getting so overloaded. Plus when I get tired I can lean in him or ask him to tow me so I get some forward momentum for my draggy right leg. Overall, my friends are calling him the miracle dog since I’ve been doing so much better after I got him.
I still struggle with feeling like my life has purpose and meaning, and that I am useful even though I can’t work and am disabled. But teaching a good dog to be a great dog who can help me to become more of a whole person has really improved my mental outlook and my physical health. The exercise helps me cope with the constant headaches.
I also read a lot although I have to read things at least twice since my comprehension isn’t what it was. I taught myself to knit again and do that too to keep myself occupied.
Thanks for sharing Eileen! Well divorce happens, but parenting does not stop. Therein lies the problem. I agree with you there. I am divorced and my ex-husband and I had a joint custody arrangement for years. She is 22 now and graduating from college but it has not been a fun journey. If same-sex marriage is legalized in your state, maybe they can consider divorce and custody laws as well.
I have no idea about child custody arrangements in same-sex divorce vs. heterosexual divorce but it should not matter about ones sexual orientation. ::: getting off my soapbox :::.